The passage of three tropical cyclones between December 2024 and March 2025 left around 450,000 Mozambican consumers without electricity supply, according to estimates released on Tuesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The impact was particularly severe on power infrastructure, highlighting the vulnerability of Mozambique’s national energy system to the effects of climate change, Lusa reported.
“Almost every year, we experience tropical cyclones that cause significant damage to national electricity infrastructure. Most recently, three cyclones—Chido, Dikeledi, and Jude—each caused power outages affecting more than 150,000 customers due to damage to the grid,” said Rita Madeira, Manager of the IEA’s Africa Programme, during the presentation of the Mozambique National Climate Resilience Assessment in Maputo.
The report was launched as part of the CPLP Energy and Climate Week, which runs until Friday, and examines the impact of climate change on the energy sector, offering resilience recommendations for countries in the region.
Mozambique ranks among the world’s most exposed and vulnerable nations to climate change. Each rainy season, between October and April, the country is cyclically struck by floods and tropical cyclones, with significant impacts on populations and strategic infrastructure. Cyclone Chido, the first and most intense of the last season, caused the greatest damage, further exacerbating existing weaknesses.
The IEA noted that Mozambique’s energy system faced major disruptions over the past year due to extreme weather events. Without additional adaptation measures, these risks are expected to rise. One growing concern is the increasing demand for cooling, driven by higher average temperatures. The IEA estimates that this could lead to a 20% increase in energy demand over the next decade, putting further pressure on an already strained grid.
According to the data presented, although Mozambique’s warming has remained below the global average, the trend has worsened. Between 2000 and 2023, the country’s average temperature increased by 0.28°C per decade. In the most recent five-year period (2019–2023), Mozambique’s average land surface temperature reached 24.4°C, representing a 0.6°C rise compared to the 2000–2004 period.
This evolution poses technical challenges for the power grid, which was designed to operate at a reference ambient temperature of 25°C. As temperatures rise, current-carrying capacity decreases, requiring load reductions during certain periods — a situation that can worsen outages and supply interruptions.
The IEA further projects that, by the end of the century, Mozambique’s hydropower generation capacity could decline by 14% if no robust resilience measures are implemented. Such a scenario would deepen the country’s dependence on energy sources vulnerable to extreme weather events.
In this context, the agency urges the Government and its development partners to prioritise investment in infrastructure adapted to future climate conditions, ensuring a stable, secure, and inclusive electricity supply.
Source: Diário Económico
