2023 cyclone Freddy longest on record at 36 days: UN

AFP | Geneva, Switzerland

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Cyclone Freddy, which crossed the entire southern Indian Ocean before wreaking devastation on southeastern Africa last year, was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded at 36 days, the UN confirmed yesterday.

A panel of experts has been poring over the data surrounding the storm since its remarkable journey in February and March last year.

The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed Freddy’s 36 days “at tropical storm status or higher” overtook tropical cyclone John’s 29.75 days in 1994. However John still travelled the furthest distance.

It barrelled across the north Pacific Ocean,travelling nearly a third of the Earth’s circumference -- covering 13,159 kilometres (8,175 miles) to Freddy’s 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,” said panel member Chris Velden, a tropical cyclone and satellite expert from the University of Wisconsin in the United States.

The Freddy announcement comes as Hurricane Beryl -- the earliest top-level Category 5 storm in the Atlantic on record -- hurtled towards Jamaica after sweeping across several islands in the southeastern Caribbean.

Though the WMO has not linked Freddy ’s exceptional longevity to climate change caused by human activity, it says climate change is linked to the increased likelihood of major hurricanes, while rising ocean temperatures increase their destructive power and energy