Malawi falls under the South-West Indian Ocean cyclone basin, where tropical cyclones are named by Météo-France’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) La Réunion. The names are selected from a pre-approved list submitted by countries in the region, including Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and others.
Each cyclone season, the first system that reaches tropical storm strength is assigned the next available name from the list which is arranged alphabetically. If a cyclone is exceptionally destructive, its name is permanently retired and replaced with a new one to avoid confusion and respect those affected by the storm.