01 Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Climatology

Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Climatology: Each year, around 80 tropical cyclones (TCs) form around the world, with about one-third of them in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) (Gray, 1979). Tropical cyclones within the South Indian Ocean (SIO) and the South Pacific Ocean (SPO) are frequent and intense, and they dramatically affect maritime navigation and the lives of communities in coastal areas. Australia and the island nations are affected each year by TCs. In extreme cases they can have devastating consequences on life, property and the economic well-being of the communities directly affected and the country as a whole, as in the case of one of Australia’s most notorious TCs, Tracy, which devastated Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, on 25 December 1974 (Australian Government, 1977).https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/modern_climatology/1000/thumbnail.jp