Cyclone Ditwah

When Cyclone Ditwah, a rare and intense tropical cyclone that formed in the southern Indian Ocean in late 2024. Also known as Tropical Cyclone Ditwah, it wasn’t just another storm—it was one of the strongest systems to develop in that region in over a decade, with winds hitting 185 km/h and a pressure drop that sent shockwaves through meteorological circles. Most people outside the affected zones never heard of it, but its path and intensity offer real clues about how climate change is reshaping weather we used to think was far away.

Cyclone Ditwah didn’t hit London, but it mattered here anyway. Weather systems don’t stop at borders. The jet stream patterns disrupted by Ditwah’s energy ripple across continents, influencing rainfall in Europe and delaying winter fronts over the UK. That means colder snaps, wetter autumns, and longer delays on the Tube—all connected to storms like this one. And it’s not just Ditwah. In the last five years, the Indian Ocean has seen a 40% increase in Category 4+ cyclones, according to the UK Met Office’s global monitoring data. These aren’t anomalies anymore. They’re the new normal.

What made Ditwah stand out wasn’t just its strength—it was where it formed. Most cyclones in that area develop near Madagascar or the Seychelles. Ditwah sparked way farther south, near the Kerguelen Plateau, where sea surface temperatures were unusually warm for that time of year. That’s the kind of detail climate scientists are now watching closely. Warmer oceans mean more energy. More energy means faster intensification. And faster intensification means less time to prepare. Communities in the Mascarene Islands had just hours to react. In London, we might not feel the wind, but we feel the cost: higher food prices from disrupted shipping routes, delayed flights from rerouted air corridors, and even more strain on the NHS as seasonal illnesses spike after extreme weather.

There’s a myth that cyclones are only a problem for islands and tropics. But the truth is simpler: extreme weather anywhere affects everyone everywhere. Cyclone Ditwah is a reminder that climate change isn’t a distant threat—it’s a system-wide reset. The same forces that fueled Ditwah are also making UK winters wetter, summers hotter, and storms more unpredictable. You don’t need to be in the Indian Ocean to feel its effects. You just need to be paying attention.

Below, you’ll find posts that connect the dots between global weather events and daily life in London—from how rising fuel prices trace back to ocean storms, to why your commute got longer after a cyclone thousands of miles away. These aren’t random stories. They’re pieces of the same puzzle.