Two cyclones striking the Andhra Pradesh coast within a week have raised several climatological questions. Very severe cyclone Arnab made a prolonged landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of October 28. On the morning of November 3, severe cyclone Murasu followed, hitting the same coastal region. Even as Arnab was approaching the coast, Murasu was already taking shape. While such back-to-back formations are being viewed as a climatological anomaly, the occurrence of two powerful cyclones in quick succession challenges the conventional understanding of the atmospheric and oceanic conditions that govern cyclone formation.
Both cyclones have left behind a trail of destruction. Around 25 districts across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have reported widespread damage to property. Subsequent flooding in both states has compounded the devastation. The two state governments evacuated nearly 300,000 people to safer locations. The Andhra Pradesh government has reported crop losses across more than 360,000 hectares, with preliminary estimates putting the total damage at Rs 5,000 crore.
India has witnessed similar episodes in the past, though rarely. The most notable was the 1999 Odisha super cyclone, which battered the state on October 29, just 11 days after another very severe cyclone struck it coast. In October 2013, cy-clone Phailin, which hit Odisha, was followed by two successive cyclonic storms—Helen and Lehar.
Conventional cyclone dynamics suggest that the formation and passage of a powerful cyclone alter atmospheric conditions, often making the environment less conducive to the development of another system in its wake. The formation of two cyclones in quick succession therefore raises questions about whether global warming is altering the atmospheric and oceanic processes that govern cyclone formation. Rising global temperatures have warmed the oceans. Even after a cyclone de-velops and draws energy from the ocean, sea-surface temperatures and the underlying ocean heat content may remain suffi-ciently high to support the formation of another system.
Another meteorological anomaly was observed during the formation and landfall of cyclone Arnab. As the cyclone made its prolonged landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of October 28, it appeared to interact with another cyclonic system to its northeast — one that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) did not explicitly acknowledge …
This article was first published in the November 16-30, 2026 print edition of Down To Earth