TITLE:
Change in the Number of Tropical Cyclone Landfall and Approach over Mozambique from 1980 to 2020
AUTHORS:
Dinis Chichava, Jinhua Yu, Philemon Henry King’uza, Samuel Ekwacu
KEYWORDS:
Mozambique, Tropical Cyclone Landfall, Tropical Cyclone Approach, Environmental Conditions
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.12 No.10,
October
12,
2024
ABSTRACT: In this study, the variability of tropical cyclone (TC) landfall and approach over Mozambique as well as the environmental factors influencing were investigated. The frequencies of tropical cyclone landfall and approach as well as environmental factors were compared between the two periods (1980 to 1999 and 2000 to 2020). This study found that, according to International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) tropical cyclone data, the number of tropical cyclones making landfall over Mozambique increased by about 66% in the second period (2000-2020), compared to 34% in the first period (1980-1999). While the number of tropical cyclone approaches reduced from 59% in the first period to 41% in the second period. An assessment of the environmental conditions showed that warmer sea surface temperature (SST) and low vertical wind shear (VWS) were favorable to more TC genesis and, consequently, an increase in landfalls and a reduction in TC confined to the approach.