10 Nov 2026 - "Daily Current Affairs" Updates

01  El Niño vs Indian Ocean Dipole

WHY IN NEWS  The source reports that the June–September 2026 monsoon received 87% of the Long Period Average (LPA): a 13% shortfall (about 759 mm against 868.6 mm) during a very strong “super” El Niño.

Understand the mechanism

•  El Niño: unusual warming in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific weakens trade winds and shifts the Walker circulation eastwards. Sinking air over India can suppress rainfall.

•  ENSO: El Niño and the opposite cooling phase, La Niña, form the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Niño 3.4 anomaly of at least +0.5°C indicates El Niño; +2°C is popularly termed a “super” episode.

•  Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD): contrast in sea-surface temperatures between the western Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea side) and the eastern Indian Ocean (near Sumatra). Positive IOD = warmer west and usually more Indian monsoon rain; negative IOD = cooler west and usually less. Nickname: “Indian Niño”.

•  What to remember: El Niño need not cause drought. A strong positive IOD can counter some effects; El Niño with neutral/negative IOD raises drought risk.

FAST FACT  IMD seasonal rainfall bands (percentage of LPA)

Deficient

Below normal

Normal

Above normal

Excess

<90%

90–95%

96–104%

105–110%

>110%

LPA in the source: about 87 cm, using the 1971–2020 average.

Monsoon year

Pacific / ENSO

Indian Ocean / IOD

Outcome

1997

Very strong El Niño

Strong positive IOD

Roughly normal (+2%)

2009

El Niño

Neutral IOD

−22% (severe drought)

2015

Strong El Niño

Weak positive IOD

−14%

2026

“Super” El Niño

Not strongly positive

−13% (87% of LPA)

MEMORY LOCK  El Niño = Pacific   |   IOD = Indian Ocean   |   Positive IOD can offset El Niño   |   Normal rain = 96–104% LPA

02  Cyclone Murasu

WHY IN NEWS  Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu made landfall on the southern Andhra Pradesh coast. India proposed the name “Murasu”, Tamil for “drum”.

From naming to landfall

•  The WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones has 13 contributors: Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UAE and Yemen. Its 2020 list has 169 names (13 per member).

•  IMD New Delhi is the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) for North Indian Ocean cyclone naming. The names are used sequentially and are not reused.

•  Landfall occurs when the cyclone centre/eye crosses the coast. Storm surge, destructive winds and intense rain cause damage; the storm then loses its warm-moist ocean energy supply over land.

•  Bay of Bengal records more cyclones than the Arabian Sea owing to warmer waters, funnel-shaped coast, Pacific storm remnants and flat east-coast terrain. Peak windows: April–May and October–December.

WIND SPEED  IMD intensity ladder

System

Maximum sustained wind (km/h)

Depression / deep depression

31–49 / 50–61

Cyclonic storm

62–88

Severe cyclonic storm

89–117

Very severe cyclonic storm

118–166

Extremely severe cyclonic storm

167–221

Super cyclonic storm

≥222

MEMORY LOCK  Murasu = Tamil “drum”   |   13 countries / 169 names   |   Landfall = eye crosses coast   |   Super cyclone ≥222 km/h

03  Gulf of Aden, Hodeidah & Maritime Piracy

WHY IN NEWS  Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel near the Horn of Africa. The Houthis also alleged a Saudi strike on Yemen’s Hodeidah port; hijacked dhows can serve as “mother ships” for distant piracy raids.

Map it in your mind

•  Bab-el-Mandeb (“Gate of Tears”) is the passage between Yemen and Djibouti/Eritrea connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea.

•  Hodeidah is a Houthi-held (Ansar Allah; Iran-backed) Red Sea port critical to Yemen’s food and fuel imports. The 2018 Stockholm Agreement led to UNMHA, a UN mission associated with Hodeidah.

•  Piracy hotspots include Eyl and Hobyo off Puntland/Somalia. The source links the rise since November 2023 partly to naval resources being diverted toward Red Sea Houthi attacks.

Anti-piracy tools

•  UNCLOS: Article 101 describes piracy as illegal acts on the high seas for private ends; Article 105 gives states universal jurisdiction to seize pirate ships.

•  India’s Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022: first dedicated Indian piracy law, operating beyond the EEZ into the high seas; provides up to life imprisonment, and death if death is caused.

•  Indian Navy: Gulf of Aden patrols since 2008; Operation Sankalp since 2019 for merchant shipping; rescues of Iranian dhows Iman and Al Naeemi in 2024.

•  Partners: EU Operation Atalanta (2008); Djibouti Code of Conduct (2009), expanded by the Jeddah Amendment (2017); India became an observer in 2020.