Did the countrywide lockdown act like a catalyst in turning a cyclone to a super-cyclone AMPHAN?

Abstract

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and countrywide lockdown, the super-cyclone Amphan collided with the eastern coast of India, majorly affecting the Indian state of West Bengal. The lockdown restricted the industrial emissions of greenhouse gases known for increasing the average global temperature, however the sea-surface temperature (SST) profile over the Bay of Bengal indicated higher than average SST values in preceding 5 years. The unexpected increase in sea-surface temperature might have played a major role in formation cyclonic disturbances over the Bay of Bengal, which might have triggered the formation of super cyclone Amphan. The anomalous increase in average SST could be attributed to the sudden lowering of particulate matter concentration due to the lockdown, which resulted in the increase in levels of solar insolation on the sea-surface due to the absence of particulate matter load, which reflects/absorbs the incoming solar radiation to the surface keeping the sea-surface temperature at lower levels.