Cyclone Freddy update: After Madagascar, rising alerts in Mozambique; Might set new record with return

After striking Madagascar for the second time on Monday, Cyclone Freddy might make landfall in Mozambique later this week. Four people died on the Indian Ocean island, raising Freddy's death toll to 21. The storm initially caused damage in southern Africa in late February, displacing thousands of people in both nations.

It has been whirling over the Indian Ocean for 32 days and may become the longest-lasting storm on record. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) describes the storm's loop as "exceptional" from a meteorological standpoint. Hurricane John, sometimes known as Typhoon John, was the most elongated storm on record, lasting 31 days in 1994.

Given that Cyclone Freddy has been weakening over the previous 32 days, the World Meteorological Organization said it would take several months to determine if it has surpassed John's record. Freddy has already smashed records for its strength and the 8,000-kilometer (5,000-mile) journey across the Indian Ocean.

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The cyclone formed off the north Australian coast in early February and travelled hundreds of kilometres across the southern Indian Ocean, impacting Mauritius and La Réunion before the landfall in Madagascar and Mozambique two weeks later.

Mozambique is now ready for a second landfall while dealing with the storm's rains and flooding. According to the UN World Food Programme, Freddy has already touched over 160,000 people. Meanwhile, Madagascar has received around three times its monthly regular rainfall in the last week.

The southwest Indian Ocean has cyclone season from November to April. Environment experts believe climate change is increasing cyclones, making them longer, wetter, and more frequent. After spanning the whole Indian Ocean for a month, Freddy is on track to become the longest-lived tropical cyclone in history, according to the United Nations meteorological organisation.