The longest lasting storm in history

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations confirmed that Freddy’s 36-day existence surpassed the 29.75-day existence of Tropical Storm John in 1994. However, John still traveled the farthest. It crossed the North Pacific Ocean, traversing nearly a third of the Earth’s circumference, equivalent to 13,159 km, while Freddy’s travel distance was 12,785 km.

“Freddy was a remarkable tropical cyclone, not only because of its long duration but also because of its ability to survive multiple ground interactions, which had major consequences for people in southeast Africa,” said Chris Velden, a tropical storm and satellite expert at the University of Wisconsin.

The WMO does not link Freddy’s long lifespan to climate change caused by human activity. However, the organization says climate change is linked to an increased risk of severe storms. Rising ocean temperatures also increase the destructive power of these storms. Monitoring and recording are therefore important to inform policy making and understanding how the climate is changing and the impacts of extreme weather, said Clare Nullis, a WMO spokesperson.

Freddy formed off northwestern Australia, becoming a named storm on February 6. It made landfall in Madagascar on February 21 and Mozambique on February 24, killing several people and causing heavy rains and flooding in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

The storm then circled back along the coast, gaining strength and striking Madagascar again before moving into Mozambique and Malawi, where floods and landslides swept away homes, roads and bridges. Tropical cyclones draw energy from warm water and weaken as they sweep across the land, so by mid-March, Freddy had dissipated.

More than 1,200 people were killed or missing and more than 2,100 injured in Malawi. More than 1.3 million people were affected in Mozambique, with more than 180 deaths, the WMO said. Nearly 200,000 people were affected in Madagascar by two cyclones. The damage caused by Freddy is estimated at $481 million, according to the African Union’s Africa Risk Capacity.