Cyclone Fani has battered areas of north-east India and Bangladesh, a region notorious for catastrophic storms. But tropical cyclones have also appeared in unexpected areas, including extremely powerful Cyclone Kenneth, which recently struck the north of Mozambique, a region previously unknown for these storms. That came shortly after powerful Cyclone Idai tore through central Mozambique and neighbouring countries.

In March, Tropical Storm Ibai appeared in the South Atlantic, where tropical storms are very rare. That same month, two powerful tropical cyclones hit Australia within 48 hours, another unusual occurrence.

In January, Tropical Storm Pabuk hit southern Thailand. Although not strong, it was the first known tropical storm to hit Thailand so early in the year – cyclones there usually come later in the year.

In 2018, Tropical Cyclone Sagar tore through the Gulf of Aden. It was the strongest cyclone to hit Somalia and the farthest west a tropical storm has made landfall in the country. Also last year, a bizarre subtropical cyclone formed off the coast of Chile, the first such storm to hit this region, where the seas are usually too cold for tropical storms.

What has caused so many uncommon tropical cyclones to appear is not clear, but unusually warm seas in various regions may have played their part.