The influence of sea surface temperature (SST) on tropical cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal (5.5 to 21.5°N; 80.5 to 95.5°E) was examined, using 84 months (January 2008 to December 2015) of National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Optimum interpolation version 2 daily SST data. The formation of cyclonic storm (CS) was dominated during the monsoon and post monsoon periods where as the formation of severe cyclonic storms (SCS) and very severe cyclonic storms (VSCS) dominated during pre-monsoon period. The SST shows positive trend whereas number of occurrence of tropical disturbance shows negative trend. The SST variation shows two peaks, one in May and another in October. Nearly 44% of the total number of occurrence of disturbance (27) was converted into cyclone. The study revealed that the intensity of cyclone has a step – like, rather than continuous relationship with SST.

Keywords: Tropical cyclone, sea surface temperature (SST), Bay of Bengal.