Cyclone 03B, unofficially named Yemyin, has stirred up more than high winds, heavy rain and flooding. Under convention, led by the World Meteorological Organization WMO, the Indian Meteorological Department IMD is responsible for issuing advisories on tropical cyclones in the northern half of the Indian Ocean. This applies to both the Bay of Bengal (to the east) and the Arabian Sea (to the west).
Cyclone 03B started life in the Bay of Bengal, then traversed India east to west, and re-emerged into the Arabian Sea. As soon as the system was out in the Arabian Sea, IMD downed tools and stopped issuing advisories. Meanwhile, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii raised the proverbial red flag, stating that the cyclone could redevelop the moment it re-emerged over water. Which it did. It slammed into southern Pakistan as potentially a category 2 hurricane, without so much as a whimper out of New Delhi. The Pakistan Met Office took over where the Indians had left off. A full account can be read on Margie Kieper's Wunderblog.
I am reporting on this, for the simple reason that information on tropical cyclones is usually not all that reliable, not readily available or accessible (reason for me to disseminate it through my tropical cyclones blog). I am quite frankly disgusted with the unprofessional attitude of the hurricane centre in New Delhi, who cannot elevate themselves above the level of petty regional animosity.
Leaving that to one side, cyclone 04B has formed in the Bay of Bengal, heading northwest into mainland India. It is likely to make landfall tomorrow as a tropical storm. .
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