Indian Ocean was battered by world's longest cyclone in 2023

New York, United States

The entire southern Indian Ocean was battered by Cyclone Freddy in 2023, which created havoc and wrecked devastation in southeastern Africa, and now has been classified by the United Nations as the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record which lasted for 36 days. 

The data regarding the storm, which made a remarkable journey in February and March last year, was studied by a panel of experts.

The United Nations' weather and climate agency finally stated that the cyclone had indeed broken the previous record.

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The extreme weather evaluation committee "recognised Tropical Cyclone Freddy's duration of 36.0 days at tropical storm status or higher as the new world record for the longest tropical cyclone duration", said the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in a statement.

Therefore, Cyclone Freddy overtook Tropical Cyclone John - which had barrelled through the north Pacific Ocean in 1994 and was considered as the longest tropical storm which had a combined duration of 714 hours, or 29.75 days.

Cyclone Freddy fails to dethrone Cyclone John as longest-travelling storm

However, Cyclone Freddy failed to take away the title of the longest-travelling storm from Cyclone John, which covered a distance of 13,159 kilometres (8,176.6 miles), while Freddy only travelled 12,785 kilometres.

"Freddy was a remarkable tropical cyclone, not only for its longevity but also for its ability to survive multiple land interactions, which unfortunately had significant consequences for southeast African populations," stated panel member Chris Velden, who is a tropical cyclone and satellite expert from the University of Wisconsin in the United States.

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No direct link was made between Freddy's exceptional longevity and the human activity-led climate change by the WMO.

However, on its page which is dedicated to tropical cyclones, the WMO stated that climate change is linked "not only to an increased likelihood of major hurricanes but also to direct increases in their destructive power".

"Freddy caused major human and economic losses in the worst-affected countries due to its prolonged passage near and over land," stated the WMO.

Freddy developed across north Australia and turned into the "Cyclone Freddy" on February 6.

On February 21, the cyclone made landfall in Madagascar after crossing the island before it reached Mozambique on February 24 and led to the loss of lives and properties in both countries.

(With inputs from agencies)