Multiple undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea, hampering internet performance — international cables connecting Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are compromised

Two major undersea cable systems in the Red Sea were cut, leading Microsoft to reroute Azure traffic and causing latency spikes and degraded performance for cloud users in South Asia and the Gulf. The damaged SEA-ME-WE-4 and IMEWE cable systems are crucial for connecting Asia to Europe, impacting hyperscalers like Google and Meta. Repairs for these critical pathways could take weeks due to the scarcity of repair ships and the sensitive geopolitical nature of the Red Sea. While Azure remains operational, enterprises relying on cross-region connectivity between Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East should expect slower connections for the foreseeable future.