What is a cyclone?

A cyclone is a large-scale air circulation rotating around a powerful centre of atmospheric pressure. The most common classifications used for cyclones include tropical, extratropical, and subtropical cyclones. Close to the equator, warm ocean waters are the typical formation site for cyclones, which are common in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. The anatomy of the cyclone has a clear, calm centre called the eye that is surrounded by the eyewall, an area with the most forceful winds and heavy rain. The eyewall, in turn, is surrounded by spiral rainbands of heavy, raining thunderstorms moving outward. The interplay of these elements together gives the cyclonic system its typical spiral form.

Cyclones and their formation

Tropical Cyclones

Formation Process

Basically, tropical cyclones form over warm ocean waters above 26.5°C or 80°F. This hot water heats the air overlying it, causing it to rise and creating an area of low pressure. As this warm, moist air rises, it cools and condenses into clouds, releasing latent heat into the atmosphere during the process and further feeding the cyclone. Low wind shear, or the change in wind speed and direction with height, is critical to the cyclone’s formation because it permits the storm to stay organised and strengthen. Atmospheric instability is the tendency for the air to continue rising if it is lifted, which contributes to the growth of the cyclone, creating a self-sustaining system that can further intensify into a powerful storm.

Areas of Formation:

Mostly, tropical cyclones emanate from the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. In the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, they are known as hurricanes, in the Western Pacific as typhoons, and in the Indian Ocean, where they can cause significant damage, particularly in the vicinity of the Bay of Bengal, they are simply known as tropical cyclones.

Polar Cyclones

Formation Process:

Polar cyclones develop in the cold polar regions, especially around the poles, because with large contrasts of temperature zones between the cold polar air mass and the warmer air mass from lower latitudes, strong jet streams are created. These jet streams create further deepening low-pressure systems that may rapidly intensify towards the formation of polar cyclones. These polar cyclones derive their energy from the temperature contrasts, in contrast to tropical cyclones, which get energy from warm ocean waters and can occur over both land and ocean.

Unique Features:

In general, these cyclones are relatively weak as compared to tropical cyclones, displaying largely colder temperatures and less strong winds. Nevertheless, they can take on longevities and might even get spread over a broad area. They usually do not have well-defined eyes or eyewalls like tropical storms.

Mesocyclones

Formation Process

Mesocyclones are circulations within the thunderstorm—especially supercells. They form if there is a strong wind shear in the atmosphere and then cause the air inside a thunderstorm to rotate. The turning updraft, or the mesocyclone, is capable of leading to the formation of tornadoes. For that matter, they are the most dangerous factor in severe weather.

Storm-Scale Dynamics

Compared to a tropical or polar cyclone, a mesocyclone is normally only a few kilometres across. However, they are very intense, spinning fast and cause tornadoes, which may be disastrous. They are a critical predictor of severe weather, normally allowing the issue of warnings about impending tornadoes.

Causes of cyclones

•  Causes of Cyclones:  Ocean Surface Temperatures: Warm ocean waters above 26.5°C, or 80°F, warm the overlying atmosphere, and such air rises to produce a low-pressure system.
• Atmospheric Pressure Differences:  It is due to large pressure differences in the atmosphere that results in how are cyclones formed. Low pressure is created by warm air that rises upwards, and thereupon it brings adjacent air along with it to balance out the pressure difference.
• Coriolis Effect: It is the rotation of Earth that causes the Coriolis effect, a deflection force on winds that produces the cyclonic rotation of air around a low-pressure centre.
• Wind Patterns: Low wind shear and other favourable wind patterns will allow the storm to organise itself further and strengthen itself to create and strengthen a cyclone.

Effects of Cyclones

Cyclones can have devastating effects on both the lives of people and the environment. Let us understand how it wrecks havoc. The following are the 5 effects of cyclones: 

Immediate Effects of Cylcones 

• Coastal Flooding: Cyclones cause a great amount of coastal flooding by submerging low-lying areas.
• Damage to Property by Winds: High-velocity winds cause wide-scale destruction of buildings, infrastructure, and vegetation.
• Storm Surges: During a cyclone, rising sea levels create storm surges that cause much flooding and erosion.

Long Term Effects of Cyclones 

•  Displacement of People and Economic Losses: Cyclones cause displacement with mandatory evacuations, rendering people homeless and often displacing them for a long time. Heavy property damages, infrastructure destruction, and agricultural land devastation result in massive economic losses.
•  Environmental: Cyclones change landscapes and can destroy whole ecosystems; this causes environmental degradation that lasts for a very long time.

Riding Out of the Storm

Cyclones are one of the strong natural incidents, contributed by many complicated atmospheric and oceanic conditions. Ranging from tropical to polar, formation is driven by ocean temperature and many wind patterns. The effects of cyclones, which can be devastating and range from immediate destruction to long-term environmental degradation, make the need for preparedness more pressing, more so as climate change augments both their frequency and force. It is still important to understand how are cyclones formed and the factors that cause them. This will go to great lengths to reduce the effects of cyclones and the destruction associated with the loss of human life and property. Keeping aware and backing climate-supported actions can help protect many communities and minimise the destructive force of these storms.

FAQ’s

What are the immediate effects of cyclones on coastal areas?

Cyclones play havoc with infrastructure, destroy houses, and cause imbalances in ecosystems through storm surges, flooding, and strong winds that result in instant devastation.

How do cyclones affect human life and property?

Cyclones mean the destruction of property, loss of life, and long-term economic hardships displacing communities, thereby requiring extensive recovery efforts in the affected areas.

What is the impact of a cyclone on the environment?

Cyclones can cause a great amount of erosion along coastlines, a loss of biodiversity, and major variations in landscapes that can allow for the disruption of natural habitats and alter ecosystems long after the storm passes.