“Climate change and southern hemisphere tropical cyclones” international initiative – progress since the first international conference on Indian Ocean tropical cyclones and climate change

Abstract

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are the most dangerous and damaging weather phenomena to regularly affect countries in the South Indian and the South Pacific Oceans. The year-to-year impact varies, and historical records demonstrate significant interannual variability in TC frequency and spatial distribution of cyclone tracks. Additionally, the climate is changing on a global scale and it is important to understand how a warmer climate may affect TC activity. Since 1999 national meteorological services from the regions of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) combined their efforts in improving our understanding of changes in regional TC activity due to climate change. As the first step of the “Climate change and Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclones”� International Initiative, high-quality TC archive for the SH has been created.