Cyclones mainly occur over warm tropical oceans between about 5° and 30° latitude north and south of the Equator, especially in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Ocean basins.

What is a cyclone?

  • A cyclone is a large system of winds spiraling around a centre of low pressure, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
  • Tropical cyclones are the intense versions that form over warm oceans and are called hurricanes or typhoons in some regions.

Main regions where cyclones occur

  • North Atlantic Ocean : Includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico; affects the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast and Atlantic coast of North America , Central America, Mexico, and sometimes Atlantic Canada and nearby islands.
  • Eastern & Western North Pacific: Very active; storms affect coastal Mexico, Central America, southeast Asia, China, Japan, and Pacific islands.
  • Indian Ocean (North Indian) : Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal; hit eastern India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar.
  • Indian Ocean (Southwest & Southeast): Affect northwest Australia, east Africa (e.g., Mozambique), and islands like Madagascar and Mauritius.
  • Southwest Pacific : Impact northeast Australia, Pacific Island nations like Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.

Almost 90% of tropical cyclones form within about 20° north or south of the Equator, where ocean waters are warm enough to fuel them.

Where cyclones do not usually form

  • Tropical cyclones avoid the equatorial belt itself (around 0–5°) because the Coriolis force there is too weak to start the spin.
  • Two ocean regions rarely see cyclones because the water is too cool: the eastern South Pacific (Peru Current) and the South Atlantic (Benguela Current).
  • Cyclones that move too far poleward into cooler waters usually weaken and die out.

Big-picture pattern

  • The Pacific Ocean generates the greatest number of tropical storms and cyclones, especially the western Pacific, which produces the strongest “super typhoons.”
  • The Indian Ocean is second in cyclone numbers, and the Atlantic is third.

In short, if you look at a world map, cyclones cluster in bands over warm tropical oceans just off the Equator, circling around the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia, while a few cooler ocean zones stay mostly cyclone‑free.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.