The National Meteorological Institute (INAM) announced this Friday, 10 January, that it is monitoring the evolution of tropical storm ‘Dikeledi’, which is expected to enter the Mozambique channel on Sunday, becoming the second phenomenon of its kind to affect the region in less than a month, Lusa news agency reported.
Initially classified as a tropical depression formed to the north-east of the island of Madagascar, Dikeledi evolved into a tropical storm and is expected to intensify in the coming hours, reaching the stage of a tropical cyclone on Saturday 11 January. ‘Current projections indicate that this weather system has the potential to reach tropical cyclone stage on the 11th, near the east coast of Madagascar. Dikeledi could enter the Mozambique channel on the 12th of this month,’ reads the statement issued by INAM.
Despite the expected intensification, INAM assures that the phenomenon does not yet pose a danger to the coast or to national territory, but emphasises that it is monitoring developments.
The country is facing this new meteorological threat shortly after the passage of the intense tropical cyclone Chido, level 3 (on a scale of 1 to 5), which hit the coastal area of northern Mozambique in the early hours of 14 December. After weakening to a severe tropical storm, Chido continued to affect the country’s northern provinces over the following days, causing heavy rainfall, with accumulations of more than 250 millimetres in 24 hours, accompanied by thunderstorms and winds with very strong gusts, according to information from the National Emergency Operations Centre.
According to data updated by the authorities, Cyclone Chido caused at least 120 deaths and left 868 people injured in the north and centre of the country. The phenomenon directly affected 687,630 people, equivalent to 138,037 families, in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Niassa, Nampula, Tete and Sofala, according to the latest figures from Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction.
Among the fatalities, 110 were recorded in Cabo Delgado, seven in Nampula and three in Niassa. In addition to the human losses, the cyclone caused significant damage to infrastructure, homes and livelihoods, leaving a trail of destruction in the affected regions.
Mozambique is recognised as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world, regularly facing tropical cyclones and floods during the rainy season, which runs from October to April. These extreme phenomena, which are becoming increasingly frequent and intense, highlight the need for urgent measures to strengthen the resilience of communities and mitigate the impacts of climate change.