The 2021–22 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season had the latest start on record. Despite the late start, it was an above-average season that produced 12 named storms, with five becoming tropical cyclones. The season began on 15 November 2021, and ended on 30 April 2022, with the exception for
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
and the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
, for which it ended on 15 May 2022. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical and subtropical cyclones form in the basin, which is west of
90°E
The meridian 90° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.
It is the border between two tropical cyclone bas ...
and south of the
Equator
The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
. However, tropical cyclones that form at any time between July 1st, 2021 and June 30th, 2022 will count towards the season total. Tropical and subtropical cyclones in this basin are monitored by the
Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as ...
in
Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
and unofficially by the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
.
__TOC__
Seasonal summary
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text:"(For further details, please see"
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text:"scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number ...
)"

The season's first storm,
Moderate Tropical Storm Ana, formed as a zone of disturbed weather on 20 January 2022, marking the latest first system in a Southwest Indian Ocean cyclone season ever. The second, and strongest storm of the season,
Cyclone Batsirai
Intense Tropical Cyclone Batsirai was a deadly tropical cyclone which heavily impacted Madagascar in February 2022, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Madagascar since Cyclone Enawo in 2017. It made landfall two weeks after Trop ...
, formed on 24 January, and became a long-lived and powerful storm. It cruised west, and eventually made landfall in
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
as a Category 3-equivalent storm. While Batsirai impacted Madagascar, Moderate Tropical Storm Cliff quickly formed but stayed out to sea. Continuing the active period of development,
Tropical Storm Dumako formed, struggling to intensify and making landfall in Madagascar later.
Yet another storm,
Cyclone Emnati, would strike extreme southern Madagascar as a Category 1-equivalent after peaking as a Category 4-equivalent beforehand. The third Intense Tropical Cyclone, Cyclone Vernon, passed into the basin as a Category 4-equivalent after very rapidly intensifying in the neighboring
Australian region. The fourth Intense Tropical Cyclone, Gombe, formed off the coast of Madagascar on 5 March. Initially, the storm struggled to intensify beyond tropical storm status. After hitting Madagascar, Gombe emerged into the Mozambique Channel and rapidly intensified to a Category 3-equivalent cyclone. It then struck Mozambique, bringing heavy rainfall to the same area which Ana had hit a few weeks ago. After Gombe, Halima formed in the northeast of the basin on 21 March. It gradually intensified to an Intense Tropical Cyclone on 25 March, before dissipating later on 1 April. After, Subtropical Depression Issa formed just off the eastern coast of South Africa, an extremely rare phenomenon. It proved itself to be damaging and very deadly, killing hundreds due to catastrophic flooding. Finally, Jasmine formed near
Comoros
The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...
on 21 April before the landfall in Nampula and
Zambezia province off the coast of Mozambique and rapidly intensified as Severe Tropical Storm. The storm made landfall in
Toliara
Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo.
The current spelling of the name ...
before it rapidly weakening to an overland depression, and dissipated on 27 April. In early May, Karim formed. Karim did not affect land and entered the Australian region on 7 May.
Systems
Severe Tropical Storm Ana
On 20 January, the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
began monitoring an area of convection approximately from
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, and gave a low chance for potential
tropical cyclogenesis
Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropics, tropical cyclogenesis occur are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occu ...
within the next 24 hours. Early the next day, the JTWC issued a
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formi ...
(TCFA) for the system, as it consolidated a well-defined low-level circulation center (LLCC). Later at 12:00 UTC, the MFR declared the tropical low pressure system as a zone of disturbed weather, becoming the first system of the season. Twelve hours later, the MFR upgraded it to a tropical disturbance, before further upgrading it to a tropical depression by 06:00 UTC on 22 January. Between 08:00 UTC and 09:00 UTC, the system's center crossed between
Toamasina
Toamasina (), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French language, French Tamatave or in the past as Port aux prunes, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief ...
and
ÃŽle Sainte-Marie
Nosy Boraha , also known as Sainte-Marie, main town Ambodifotatra, is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The island forms an administrative district within Analanjirofo Region, and covers an area of 222 km2.
It has a population e ...
as a tropical depression, with the MFR re-classifying the system as an overland depression.
Following landfall, the system weakened slightly, though its structure remained intact.
By the next day, the MFR re-classified it again as a tropical disturbance after entering the
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
. Six hours later, it re-intensified into a tropical depression, as it gradually regained its structure. At 15:00 UTC that same day, the JTWC upgraded the system to a tropical cyclone and designated it ''07S''. The system later intensified to a moderate tropical storm, with the MFR naming it ''Ana''. It then made landfall in Mozambique, and rapidly weakened, primarily due to friction in land mass.
Despite being a weak system, Ana caused devastating floods in Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique, killing 115 people in total.
Before becoming a moderate tropical storm, Ana made landfall as a tropical depression in Madagascar, causing heavy rainfall which led to deadly landslides and floods; it caused 58 fatalities in the country.
An estimated 55,000 people had become homeless and 130,000 were forced to flee to temporary habitation centres.
In Mozambique, at least 20 people had died and 10,000 homes had been destroyed. An additional 20,000 were affected by the cyclone.
In Malawi, 200,000 people had been displaced and 37 fatalities had been reported, with additional 22 being missing.
Catastrophic flooding caused severe damages to infrastructure and powerlines, which led to severe power outages in the affected areas.
The
Kapichira hydroelectric dam was badly damaged due to the flash floods. Because of this, the government of Malawi declared a state of natural disaster.
Intense Tropical Cyclone Batsirai
On 23 January, the JTWC noted an area of convection over the eastern part of the basin, located approximately from the
Cocos Islands
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...
, and gave a low chance for potential tropical cyclogenesis. However, by the next day, the agency issued a TCFA. At 06:00 UTC on 26 January, the MFR upgraded the system to a tropical disturbance,
before the system intensified into a tropical depression on the next day. The JTWC upgraded the system to a tropical cyclone at 03:00 UTC on 27 January. Three hours later, the MFR upgraded it to a moderate tropical storm, naming it ''Batsirai''. Between 06:00 UTC and 12:00 UTC, Batsirai underwent
rapid deepening
Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
and intensified from a moderate tropical storm to an intense tropical cyclone within three hours. Two hours later, the JTWC upgraded it to a Category 2 tropical cyclone. The system started to rapidly weaken after its eye quickly collapsed and the
cloud top
The cloud top (or the top of the cloud) is the highest altitude of the visible portion of a cloud. It is traditionally expressed either in metres above the Earth (or planetary) surface, or as the corresponding pressure level in hectopascal (hPa, eq ...
s had warmed, so the MFR downgraded it to a tropical cyclone. At midnight on 28 January, it was further downgraded to a moderate tropical storm. The JTWC subsequently followed suit and downgraded it to a tropical storm.
Batsirai resumed its intensification after re-intensifying to a severe tropical storm status on the next day. By January 30, the JTWC upgraded it to a Category 2 tropical cyclone once again. The MFR further upgraded it to a tropical cyclone status at 12:00 UTC that same day. Three hours later, the JTWC upgraded it to a Category 3 tropical cyclone. However, it was short-lived, and it weakened to a Category 1 system on 1 February. The system then restrengthened back to Category 2 status. The MFR susbsequently upgraded Batsirai to an intense tropical cyclone. By the next day, it went through another round of rapid intensification, strengthening from a Category 2 to a Category 4 tropical cyclone, according to the JTWC. After reaching its peak at 12:00 UTC, satellite imagery depicted the formation of another eyewall, indicating the beginning of an
eyewall replacement cycle
In meteorology, eyewall replacement cycles, also called concentric eyewall cycles, naturally occur in intense tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds greater than , or hurricane-force, and particularly in major hurricanes of Saffir–Simps ...
. It weakened to a Category 3 system during this time. After completing the eyewall replacement cycle, the storm again briefly intensified into a Category 4 system, before it started to weaken again to a Category 3 system, due to land interaction with
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. At 17:30 UTC on 5 February, it made landfall close to the city of
Nosy Varika
Nosy Varika is a town and commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Nosy Varika, which is a part of the region of Vatovavy. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 19,787 in 2018.
Nosy Varika is served by a loc ...
. The MFR declared that Batsirai had degenerated into an overland depression, with the JTWC downgrading it to a tropical storm. The system entered into the
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
, where it re-intensified to a moderate tropical storm. By 7 February, it weakened into a remnant low before transitioning into a
post-tropical cyclone
A post-tropical cyclone is a former tropical cyclone that no longer possesses enough tropical qualities to be considered a tropical cyclone. The word may refer to a former tropical cyclone undergoing extratropical transition or a tropical cyclone ...
. Despite fluctuating convective activity, high wind shear, and low
sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...
s, due to baroclinic forces, the MFR upgraded the system to a moderate tropical storm once more, before issuing their last advisory on the storm by the next day as it again transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone. The system was last noted on 11 February.
Batsirai caused major impacts to Mauritius, Réunion, and Madagascar, caused $190 million in damages, and caused 123 people to die.
In Mauritius and Reunion, an estimated 43,500 homes lost power due to the storm. A total of 138 people sought refuge in evacuation centers. Power girds in Madagascar were also knocked out. Agricultural losses in Reunion amounted an estimated €47 million (US$53.1 million).
Moderate Tropical Storm Cliff
On 31 January, the MFR reported the formation of a weak area of low pressure east of
Cyclone Batsirai
Intense Tropical Cyclone Batsirai was a deadly tropical cyclone which heavily impacted Madagascar in February 2022, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Madagascar since Cyclone Enawo in 2017. It made landfall two weeks after Trop ...
, which the JTWC recognized as ''Invest 90S'' at 08:00 UTC of 2 February. Two days later at 03:00 UTC, the JTWC issued a TCFA for the invest, upgrading it to a tropical cyclone shortly after, noting the defined but obscured LLC. At midday, the MFR followed, and declared the same low as a tropical depression. Later in the evening, the MFR upgraded it to a moderate tropical storm and was given the name ''Cliff''. By midnight of 5 February, Cliff weakened as it lost organization, with its convection being displaced south of its LLC. By 06:00 UTC, Cliff further weakened due to an intrusion of dry air and further strengthening of northwesterly wind shear. Six hours later, the MFR issued its last bulletin and declared it as a "filling up" low. On the next day at 21:00 UTC, the JTWC also issued its final warning on Cliff. The remnants of Cliff meandered in the open-sea and briefly passed west of the
Reunion island
Reunion may refer to:
* Class reunion
* Family reunion
Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to:
Places
* Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean
* Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...
on 11 February, dissipating completely on 12 February.
Moderate Tropical Storm Dumako
On 10 February, MFR began monitoring an area of disturbed weather,
with the JTWC designating the system as an
invest
Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
a day later. By 12 February, it had been upgraded to a tropical disturbance by MFR, before being upgraded to a tropical depression later that day.
[ The JTWC assessed that the system had developed into a tropical cyclone on 13 February, giving it the designation ''12S''. MFR upgraded the system to a moderate tropical storm later that day, being given the name ''Dumako'' by the Mauritius Meteorological Service. By 14 February at 00:00 UTC, MFR estimated Dumako to have peaked in intensity, with maximum 10-minute sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of .][ Dumako continued westward, and by the next day, it had made landfall near Sainte-Marie Island. MFR downgraded Dumako to a tropical depression later that day,][ with the JTWC doing the same at 00:00 UTC on 16 February. Dumako re-emerged over water on the same day, before being assessed to have lost tropical depression status by MFR on 17 February. Dumako dissipated on 18 February as it made landfall over ]Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
close to the city of Quelimane
Quelimane () is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative Capital (political), capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The riv ...
.[
In ]Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, at least 113 houses were damaged, more than 5000 people were affected. Flooding killed at least 14 people in Madagascar and 4,323 people were displaced. Heavy rain was recorded in South Malawi and caused flooding in some areas. The city of Quelimane
Quelimane () is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative Capital (political), capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The riv ...
experienced flooding, with power lines experiencing damage. 160 families were displaced and of crops were destroyed in Malema District. No deaths were reported in Mozambique and Malawi.
Intense Tropical Cyclone Emnati
Emnati initially developed as a zone of disturbed weather, where it moved westwards over the open waters in Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. Environmental conditions were assessed as being marginally conducive for tropical cyclogenesis, with the disturbance being located about south of Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...
. On the same day, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert for the system, and by 21:00 UTC, the JTWC initiated advisories on the system and classified it as ''Tropical Cyclone 13S''. The next day, the system organized into a tropical disturbance. The system continued organizing, and at 12:00 UTC, MFR upgraded the system to a tropical depression. By 17 February, the MFR reported that the system had become a moderate tropical storm, and the Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Center in Mauritius named it ''Emnati''.
Emnati caused impacts to Mauritius, Réunion, and Madagascar, about $15 million in damages, and caused 15 deaths.
Severe Tropical Storm Fezile
During 16 February, the MFR reported that a low-pressure system which was labelled as Tropical Low 19U by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology entered the basin. The agency re-assessed it as ''Zone of Disturbed Weather 06'', with the system having an ill-defined center and fluctuating convection. On the same day, the JTWC issued a TCFA following deepening of the system's convective bands and the organization of its LLC. After maintaining the same intensity for two days, the system intensified into a moderate tropical storm at midnight of 18 February. The Mauritius Meteorological Service named the storm as ''Fezile''. The system's cloud pattern rapidly organized, with numerous satellite imagery depicting the formation of curved bands. However, three hours later, the JTWC cancelled its TCFA as the system started its subtropical transition, with the MFR noting its convective structure weakening and being continuously sheared by 06:00 UTC. Fezile's structure was affected by wind shear, until later that evening, when Fezile became a post-tropical cyclone and began extratropical transition. Fezile completely dissipated shortly after.
Intense Tropical Cyclone Vernon
On 26 February, when Vernon entered the MFR's area of responsibility (AoR), it was assessed as an intense tropical cyclone on the SWIO scale, with maximum 10-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a central atmospheric pressure of 950 hPa (28.47 inHg).
Moderate Tropical Storm 08
Tropical Depression 08 initially formed on 23 February as a low-pressure area, which was located very close to Cyclone Vernon. Two days later, the JTWC started to monitor the same disturbance as ''Invest 93S''. At 06:00 UTC of 27 February, the MFR upgraded it to a tropical depression as it orbited near Vernon. After maintaining its convection for a day, the MFR issued its last advisory for Tropical Depression 08, as it underwent a Fujiwhara interaction
The Fujiwhara effect, sometimes referred to as the Fujiwara effect, Fujiwara interaction or binary interaction, is a phenomenon that occurs when two nearby cyclonic vortices move around each other and close the distance between the circulations o ...
with Vernon. Its convection had decayed and its low-level center had become ill-defined as a result of the interaction, and due to this, the JTWC had also stopped monitoring the invest on the next day. In post-analysis, MFR upgraded the system to Moderate Tropical Storm 08.
Tropical Cyclone Gombe
On 6 March, the MFR began to monitor a zone of disturbed weather located approximately from Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, moving northward. The JTWC later tagged the system as ''Invest 97S'', and issued a TCFA for the storm at 11:40 UTC on 6 March. The next day, the MFR upgraded it to a tropical depression on 12:00 UTC, with it being named ''Moderate Tropical Storm Gombe'' six hours later. The JTWC followed, upgrading Gombe to a tropical storm with winds of at 18:00 UTC on 7 March. The MFR re-classified Gombe as an overland depression at 06:00 UTC as it made landfall in northern Madagascar on 8 March, and the JTWC downgraded the storm to a tropical depression. 24 hours later, Gombe emerged over the Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
, and strengthened back to a tropical storm. Gombe gradually re-developed its structure, and then intensified to a high-end tropical storm late on 9 March, and gained Category 1-equivalent winds by 06:00 UTC on 10 March. As it neared landfall on Nampula Province
Nampula is a Provinces of Mozambique, province of northern Mozambique. It has an area of and a population of 5,758,920, making it the most populous province in Mozambique (2017 census). Nampula is the capital of the province.
History
Under Port ...
, it underwent rapid intensification
Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
and strengthened from in 18 hours. The MFR upgraded Gombe to the fourth Intense Tropical Cyclone of the year at the same time. Following Gombe's landfall in Mozambique, it proceeded to lose most of its convection the next day. The MFR downgraded the storm to an Overland Depression for the second time on 06:00 UTC on 11 March. In the technical bulletin released on 17 March by the MFR, the agency noted that what was left of Gombe reorganized itself into a tropical depression in the Mozambique channel. Later that day, however, the MFR issued their final bulletin on the storm.
Mozambique was particularly hard-hit by Gombe, with approximately 736,000 people directly affected. A total of 63 people died and 108 others were injured in the country.
Intense Tropical Cyclone Halima
In a bulletin released by the MFR on 21 March, a climate disturbance zone was detected in the northeast of the agency's area of responsibility. The area organized and became a tropical depression, being designated ''10''. The system underwent tropical cyclogenesis
Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropics, tropical cyclogenesis occur are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occu ...
on the morning of 23 March, and was subsequently upgraded to a moderate tropical storm, being given the name ''Halima'' by the MFR. The storm again intensified on the afternoon of 24 March, and the MFR upgraded it to a severe tropical storm. At 18:00 UTC of the same day, the MFR released another technical bulletin, informing that the low pressure intensified into a Category 1 equivalent tropical cyclone. On the morning of 25 March, Halima strengthened to an intense tropical cyclone according to the MFR.
Subtropical Depression Issa
On 11 April, a low-pressure area
In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with incle ...
evolved near the southeast coast of South Africa from the interaction of an upper-level trough and warmer air near the surface. With warm ocean temperatures and low wind shear, the low developed intense thunderstorms which wrapped around a tight circulation, and dropped heavy rainfall in eastern South Africa. On 12 April, the MFR designated the low as Subtropical Depression Issa, based on the system's structure and the presence of gale-force winds. Issa moved slowly to the south at first, strengthening to reach 10-minute sustained winds of 95 km/h (60 mph) late on 12 April. At its peak, the storm had an eye-like feature in the middle of a symmetrical area of thunderstorms. On 13 April, the JTWC classified this system as a subtropical storm in an unofficial bulletin. Issa turned to the north back toward the South African coast due to the trough in the region. Increased wind shear and dry air stripped away the thunderstorms near the center, weakening the storm, and causing the MFR to discontinue advisories on 13 April.
Issa exacerbated catastrophic floodings in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, that killed 435 people.
Severe Tropical Storm Jasmine
At 06:00 UTC on 22 April, the MFR released a bulletin detecting a weather disturbance zone near Comoros
The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...
and it was designated ''12''. The system shifted and gained strength in the afternoon of the same day reaching "tropical disturbance" status. The JTWC also released an unofficial bulletin on the low-pressure system, designating it as ''Invest 97S''. The cyclone made landfall in Nampula
Nampula is the capital city of Nampula Province in Northern Mozambique. With a population of 743,125 (2017 census), it is the third-largest city in Mozambique after Maputo and Matola. The city is located in the interior of Nampula Province, appro ...
, off the coast of Mozambique. The storm reentered into the Mozambique channel
The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
two days later, it intensified and reached the status of "moderate tropical storm", thus earning the name ''Jasmine''. It peaked as a Severe Tropical Storm with windspeed of 110 km/h according to MFR whereas the JTWC estimated a slightly lower windspeed of 100 km/h. Soon reaching its peak intensity, it began to encounter low sea surface temperatures as well as high wind shear and baroclinic forces which commenced its weakening. With the same intensity on 26 April, the storm made landfall at Toliara
Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo.
The current spelling of the name ...
and the MFR downgraded it into an overland depression. On 27 April 2022, the MFR released a final bulletin, informing that Jasmine had lost its tropical characteristics and was downgraded to a low pressure common on the high seas.
As a result of Jasmine, three people have died, and seven more have been reported missing.
Moderate Tropical Storm Karim
During the first week of May, a strong pulse of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), Kelvin wave
A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean, a large lake or the atmosphere that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the equator. A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-d ...
and Equatorial Rossby wave
Equatorial Rossby waves, often called planetary waves, are very long, low frequency water waves found near the equator and are derived using the equatorial beta plane approximation.
Mathematics
Using the equatorial beta plane approximation, f ...
(ERW) prevailed in the Indian Ocean. Along with a westerly wind burst
A westerly wind burst (WWB) or westerly wind event (WWE)https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Westerly_wind_burst is a phenomenon commonly associated with El Niño events, whereby the typical east-to-west trade winds across the equatorial Pacific shift ...
occurring, this resulted in a formation of twin tropical cyclones on either side of the equator
The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
, with the first system being Severe Cyclonic Storm Asani within the North Indian Ocean that impacted India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The second tropical cyclone was first noted as a broad and weak circulation near the area of responsibility of TCWC Jakarta on 2 May. Over the next few days, the system struggled to organize due to lack of convergence in the equator side and northeasterly constraint aloft. On 5 May, the JTWC started to monitor the system, as it began organizing, with flaring deep convection wrapping to its broad low-level circulation center. With an environment of fair poleward outflow and warm sea surface temperatures offset by moderate wind shear, the system continued to organize, which led to the JTWC issuing a TCFA on the next day. The MFR subsequently initiated advisories on Zone of Disturbed Weather 13. It organized into a tropical disturbance by 7 May, before it intensified into a moderate tropical storm by 06:00 UTC that same day, with the MFR naming it ''Karim''. The JTWC subsequently followed suit. Karim then exited the basin, and entered the Australian region that same day.
Storm names
Within the South-West Indian Ocean, tropical depressions and subtropical depressions that are judged to have 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 65 km/h (40 mph) by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as ...
on Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
island, France (RSMC La Réunion) are usually assigned a name. However, it is the Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centers in Mauritius and Madagascar who name the systems. The Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Center (Mauritius Meteorological Services) in Mauritius names a storm should it intensify into a moderate tropical storm between 55°E and 90°E
The meridian 90° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.
It is the border between two tropical cyclone bas ...
. If instead a cyclone intensifies into a moderate tropical storm between 30°E and 55°E then the Sub-Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Center (Madagascar Meteorological Services) in Madagascar assigns the appropriate name to the storm. Storm names are taken from three pre-determined lists of names, which rotate on a triennial basis, with any names that have been used automatically removed. Therefore, all storm names used this year will be removed from the rotation and replaced with a new name for the 2024–25 season, while the unused names will remain on the list. New names this season are: Ana, Batsirai, Cliff, Dumako, Emnati, Fezile, Gombe, Halima, Issa, Jasmine, Karim, and Letlama. They replaced Alcide, Bouchra, Cilida, Desmond, Eketsang, Funani, Gelena, Haleh, Idai, Joaninha, Kenneth, and Lorna after the 2018–19 season.
If a tropical cyclone enters the South-West Indian basin from the Australian region basin (west of 90°E), it will retain the name assigned to it by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government that is responsible for providing weather forecasts and meteorological services to Australia and neighbouring countries. It was established in 1906 unde ...
(BoM). The following storms were named in this manner:
* Vernon
After the season, the eleven names used were automatically retired and replaced with ''Ancha'', ''Bheki'', ''Chido'', ''Dikeledi'', ''Elvis'', ''Faida'', ''Garance'', ''Honde'', ''Ivone'', ''Jude'' and ''Kanto'', respectively for the 2024–25 season.
Season effects
This table lists all of the tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
s and subtropical cyclone
A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical cyclone, tropical and extratropical cyclones.
As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as Tropical cyclone ...
s that were monitored during the 2021–2022 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. Information on their intensity, duration, name, areas affected, primarily comes from RSMC La Réunion. Death and damage reports come from either press reports or the relevant national disaster management agency while the damage totals are given in 2021 or 2022 USD.
, -
, , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, Southern Africa , , , , , ,
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, , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar , , , , , ,
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, , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Madagascar, Mozambique , , Unknown , , , ,
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, , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar , , , , , ,
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, , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi , , , , , ,
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, , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , South Africa , , , , 436 , ,
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, , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Comoros, Mozambique, Madagascar , , , , , , Global Catastrophe Recap First Half of 2022
Global Catastrophe Recap, First Half of 2022
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See also
*Weather of 2021
The following is a list of weather events that occurred in 2021. The year began with La Niña conditions. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat wave ...
and 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*List of Southern Hemisphere cyclone seasons
The tropical cyclone seasons that occur in the Southern Hemisphere are:
*South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone
**Current – South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
*Australian region tropical cyclone
An Australian region tropical cyclone ...
*Tropical cyclones in 2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
and 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*Atlantic hurricane seasons: 2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*Pacific hurricane seasons: 2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*Pacific typhoon seasons: 2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*2021–22 Australian region cyclone season
The 2021–22 Australian region cyclone season, despite a record high number of tropical lows forming, was slightly below-average in terms of activity, with ten tropical cyclones forming, two of which intensified further into severe tropical cycl ...
*2021–22 South Pacific cyclone season
The 2021–22 South Pacific cyclone season was a near average tropical cyclone season within the South Pacific Ocean to the east of 160°E. The season officially started from November 1, 2021, and officially ended on April 30, 2022, however a tr ...
References
External links
Météo-France La Réunion
*
Alternative website
Direction Générale de la Météorologie de Madagascar
Mauritius Meteorological Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
*
2021–22
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...