The 2005 North Indian Ocean cyclone season caused much devastation and many deaths in Southern India despite the storms’ weakness. The basin covers the Indian Ocean north of the equator as well as inland areas, sub-divided by the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Although the season began early with two systems in January, the bulk of activity was confined from September to December. The official India Meteorological Department tracked 12 depressions in the basin, and the unofficial Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) monitored two additional storms. Three systems intensified into a cyclonic storm, which have sustained winds of at least 63 km/h (39 mph), at which point the IMD named them.
The 1992 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was unofficially the most active year on record for the basin, with 10 tropical storms developing, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean – the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent – and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the JTWC releases unofficial advisories. An average of four to six storms form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
The 2000 Sri Lanka cyclone was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Sri Lanka since 1978. The fourth tropical storm and the second severe cyclonic storm of the 2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed from an area of disturbed weather on December 25, 2000. It moved westward, and quickly strengthened under favorable conditions to reach top wind speeds of 75 mph (121 km/h). The cyclone hit eastern Sri Lanka at peak strength, then weakened slightly while crossing the island before making landfall over southern India on December 28. The storm degenerated into a remnant low later that day, before merging with another trough on the next day.
The 2008 North Indian cyclone season was one of the most disastrous tropical cyclone seasons in modern history, causing more than 140,000 fatalities and over US$15 billion in damage. At the time, it was the costliest season in the North Indian Ocean, until it was surpassed by 2020. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal, which is east of India, and the Arabian Sea, which is west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), however the Joint Typhoon Warning Center releases unofficial advisories for military interests. An average of four to six storms form in the North Indian Ocean every season. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
The 2003 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was the last season that tropical cyclones were not publicly labeled by India Meteorological Department (IMD). Also was mostly focused in the Bay of Bengal, where six of the seven depressions developed. The remaining system was a tropical cyclone that developed in the Arabian Sea in November, which was also the only system that did not affect land. There were three cyclonic storms, which was below the average of 4–6. Only one storm formed before the start of the monsoon season in June, although it was also the most notable. On May 10, a depression formed in the central Bay of Bengal, and within a few days became a very severe cyclonic storm. After it stalled, it drew moisture from the southwest to produce severe flooding across Sri Lanka, killing 254 people and becoming the worst floods there since 1947. Damage on the island totaled $135 million (2003 USD). The storm eventually made landfall in Myanmar on May 19. It is possible that the storm contributed to a deadly heat wave in India due to shifting air currents.
The 2002 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below average season in terms of tropical cyclone formation. The season had no official bounds, but most storms formed in either May or after October. No depressions or storms formed during the monsoon season from July to September, the first such instance on record. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean – the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent – and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of four to six storms form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
The 2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was fairly quiet compared to its predecessor, with all of the activity originating in the Bay of Bengal. The basin comprises the Indian Ocean north of the equator, with warnings issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in New Delhi. There were six depressions throughout the year, of which five intensified into cyclonic storms – tropical cyclones with winds of 65 mph (105 km/h) sustained over 3 minutes. Two of the storms strengthened into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, which has winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph), equivalent to a minimal hurricane. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) also tracked storms in the basin on an unofficial basis, estimating winds sustained over 1 minute.
The 1989 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below-average season in annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. Despite this, the season had the second highest Accumulated Cyclone Energy in the basin on record behind only 2019 The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
The 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.
The 1976 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was part of the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
The 1977 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was part of the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
The 1979 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was part of the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
The 2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a very inactive season. The season had a very late start, with the first system forming in October. During the season, only five systems formed, of which only two became cyclonic storms. Both the storms made landfall, and they, along with the deep depressions, were responsible for 128 deaths and economic losses worth at least $56.7 million.
India is a country in the north of Indian Ocean that is the most vulnerable to getting hit by tropical cyclones in the basin, from the east or from the west. On average, 2–3 tropical cyclones make landfall in India each year, with about one being a severe tropical cyclone or greater.
The 2013 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation, in which tropical cyclones formed in the North Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The season had no official bounds, but cyclones typically formed between May and December, with the peak from October to November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.
The 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below average yet deadly season in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. This season produced only three named storms, of which one only intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December with the two peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. The season began with the formation Cyclone Maarutha on April 15 and ended with the dissipation of a deep depression on December 9.
The 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was the costliest North Indian Ocean cyclone season on record, mostly due to the devastating Cyclone Amphan. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and November, with peaks in late April to May and October to November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. The season began on May 16 with the designation of Depression BOB 01 in the Bay of Bengal, which later became Amphan. Cyclone Amphan was the strongest storm in the Bay of Bengal in 21 years and would break Nargis of 2008's record as the costliest storm in the North Indian Ocean. The season concluded with the dissipation of Cyclone Burevi on December 5. Overall, the season was slightly above average, seeing the development of five cyclonic storms.
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Ockhi was a strong tropical cyclone that devastated parts of Sri Lanka and India in 2017, and was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea since Cyclone Megh in 2015. The ninth depression, and the third and strongest named storm of the 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Ockhi originated from an area of low pressure that formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal on November 28. The storm organized into a Depression off southeast coast of Sri Lanka on November 29, causing damage to property and life in Sri Lanka while passing by. Due to high atmospheric moisture and warmer oceanic surface temperature between Sri Lanka and Kanyakumari in mainland India, Ockhi intensified into a cyclonic storm on November 30.
Cyclonic Storm Burevi was a weak tropical cyclone which made landfall in Sri Lanka, becoming the first to do so since a depression in 2014, and brought minimal impact to Southern India in December 2020. The ninth depression and fifth named storm of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Burevi originated from a low-pressure area which formed on November 28. The system gradually became a depression on November 30, with the JTWC issuing a TCFA soon after. The depression then was upgraded into Cyclone Burevi the following day. Burevi slowly intensified reaching its peak intensity on December 2, just before making landfall in Sri Lanka. Burevi then weakened, entering the Gulf of Mannar the next day. Burevi proceeded to dissipate after stalling on December 5.
The 2000 South Indian Cyclone was the strongest, most intense tropical cyclone of the fairly-quiet 2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. The fifth cyclone, and the fourth named storm, Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm BOB 05 started as an upper-level low over the Andaman Sea on November 24. On early November 26, the group of thunderstorms was classified as a depression by the IMD. The system slowly began to organize, and late on November 26 the JTWC named it as Tropical Cyclone 03B. By November 28, a 20 km (12 mi)-wide eye was developing, prompting the JTWC to upgrade the storm to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane with winds of 120 km/h (75 mph). By comparison, the IMD estimated peak winds of 190 km/h (120 mph). Wind shear in the region prevented further strengthening, and the storm weakened slightly before making landfall on November 29 in eastern India near Cuddalore. A station there recorded a pressure of 983 mbar (29.0 inHg).
