The UN declared on Tuesday that storm Freddy, which devastated southeast Africa last year after sweeping across the whole southern Indian Ocean, was the longest-lasting tropical storm ever recorded at 36 days.
A group of specialists has been meticulously examining the information pertaining to the storm since its incredible voyage in February and March of last year.
It was determined that the previous record had been surpassed by the United Nations’ meteorological and climate office.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared in a statement that the extreme weather review 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”.
Freddy therefore overtakes Tropical Cyclone John, which barrelled across the north Pacific Ocean in 1994 and held tropical storm status or higher for a combined duration of 714 hours, or 29.75 days.
However, John remains the tropical storm which travelled the furthest distance, covering 13,159 kilometres (8,176.6 miles), while Freddy 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,” said panel member Chris Velden, a tropical cyclone and satellite expert from the University of Wisconsin in the United States.
The WMO did not draw a connection between Freddy’s extraordinarily long life and human-caused climate change.
However, the WMO emphasizes that climate change is connected “not only to an increased likelihood of major hurricanes, but also to direct increases in their destructive power” on their website devoted to tropical cyclones.
