Environment
Rising ocean temperatures in the Pacific, combined with climate change, have increased the intensity and frequency of powerful tropical cyclones across East Asia.
Rising ocean temperatures in the Pacific, combined with climate change, have increased the intensity and frequency of powerful tropical cyclones across East Asia. Over the past few months, successive storms have struck the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Japan, killing dozens of people, displacing thousands and causing extensive damage to infrastructure and agriculture.
According to a report by the BBC, the unusual weather conditions are largely linked to the El Niño climate phenomenon, which causes the waters in the eastern Pacific to become unusually warm and alters normal wind patterns. The UK Met Office has described this year’s El Niño as one of the strongest events on record, with conditions expected to persist until February or March. In October, Category 5 Typhoon Champi headed towards Taiwan, with wind speeds reaching up to 295 kilometers per hour. Although the storm passed without making landfall on the island, hundreds of flights were cancelled in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Power was also cut to 15,000 homes in Japan’s Okinawa Islands.
According to the report, Super Typhoon Dolphin struck eastern China in August after travelling across the Pacific for 16 days, causing severe flooding and loss of life. In June, Japan faced two storms simultaneously, forcing one million people to evacuate to safer locations. Experts say warmer ocean waters are providing storms with greater energy. This year, the combined intensity of tropical cyclones across Southeast and East Asia is expected to be nearly twice the average recorded over the past 30 years. Research by meteorologists in the Philippines suggests that rising temperatures could increase total rainfall during storms by 26 per cent. Japan and China have accelerated their precautionary measures, while the Philippines and other countries in the region have begun preparing to protect food production, particularly rice crops, from potential storm damage.
