The name “Shakhti (pronounced as Shakti)” follows a regional naming system established in 2004 for cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, managed by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The name “Shakhti” was suggested by Sri Lanka as part of this system. The word “Shakhti” is an ancient, rich Tamil word that stands for “power”.
The eight countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea – Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – suggest names for cyclones, which are listed sequentially.
The names must be neutral concerning gender, politics, religion, and culture, and they follow alphabetical order. Each name can have up to eight letters and must not be offensive. Once used, a name is never repeated.
In 2020, a new list of 169 names was introduced, with 13 names from each of the 13 participating countries.
