2023 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 2023 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an above-average and deadly season, becoming the deadliest season since 2017, mainly due to Cyclone Mocha. With nine depressions and six cyclonic storms forming, it became the most active season, featuring the second-highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) on record only behind 2019. It also had the most extremely severe cyclonic storms on record, tieing with 1999 and 2019. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with the peak from May to November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. However, a cyclone can form at any time during the year shown by an unnamed depression that affected Sri Lanka in January-February.
| 2023 North Indian Ocean cyclone season | |
|---|---|
Season summary map | |
| Seasonal boundaries | |
| First system formed | 30 January 2023 |
| Last system dissipated | 6 December 2023 |
| Strongest storm | |
| Name | Mocha |
| • Maximum winds | 215 km/h (130 mph) (3-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure | 938 hPa (mbar) |
| Seasonal statistics | |
| Depressions | 9, 1 unofficial |
| Deep depressions | 7, 1 unofficial |
| Cyclonic storms | 6, 1 unofficial |
| Severe cyclonic storms | 5 |
| Very severe cyclonic storms | 4 |
| Extremely severe cyclonic storms | 3 (record high, tied with 1999 and 2019) |
| Total fatalities | 523 total |
| Total damage | $2.47 billion (2023 USD) |
| Related articles | |
The scope of this article is limited to the Indian Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, east of the Horn of Africa and west of the Malay Peninsula. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean — the Arabian Sea to the west of the Indian subcontinent, abbreviated ARB by the India Meteorological Department (IMD); and the Bay of Bengal to the east, abbreviated BOB by the IMD.
The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center releases unofficial advisories for interest. On average, three to four cyclonic storms form in this basin every season.