Southern Africa Must Brace Itself for More Tropical Cyclones in Future

Most powerful tropical cyclones – the word is used interchangeably with “hurricanes” – originate in the North Atlantic Ocean, where they’re fuelled by the warm Gulf Stream. The South Indian Ocean experiences proportionately fewer tropical cyclones. The southern African coastline benefits from protection from Madagascar, meaning that tropical cyclones are rarer in Mozambique than in the US and the Caribbean. Those that do hit the region tend to be quite low in intensity on the Saffir Simpson scale.