Miscellaneous.
Cyclone frequency may rise over Indian coast from the warming of Pacific: study
- According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications Tropical cyclones that originate near the Equator have been devastating and are being unusually subdued in recent decades.
- The last major cyclone of this kind in India was Cyclone Okchi, which devastated parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka in 2017.
- The Journal highlights that a phenomenon called Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are making such cyclones more frequent in the recent years.
About Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO):
- PDO is a long-term ocean fluctuation of the Pacific Ocean, which lasts over a long time, approximately every 20 to 30 years.
- PDO is a pattern of Pacific climate variability similar to El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in character, but which varies over a much longer time scale.
- PDO is not an annual occurrence. It corresponds to a warmer than average Western Pacific Ocean and relatively cooler Eastern Pacific but it happens over much longer time.
- Unlike an ENSO, a ‘positive’ or ‘warmer phase’ of a PDO can be known only after several years of measuring ocean temperatures and their interaction with the atmosphere.
