Study shows climate change is making typhoons worse in Southeast Asia
Storms are forming closer to coasts and lasting longer over land, researchers said
Climate change is making typhoons more intense, especially in Southeast Asia. Photo: ShutterstockA joint scientific study released in July examined the effects of climate change on typhoons in Southeast Asia. It found that typhoons in the region are forming closer to coastlines. They are also intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land.
A statement from the study warned that coastal communities and cities like Hai Phong in Vietnam and the Thai capital, Bangkok, face threats from longer-lasting and more intense storms.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore alongside Rowan University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. It was published in the peer-reviewed Nature partner journal Climate and Atmospheric Science. The paper highlighted the significant changes in tropical cyclone behaviours in Southeast Asia and the seriousness of the situation.
The changes include “increased formation near coastlines and slower movement over land, which could pose new risks to the region”, the paper said.
The statement said that climate change has warmed oceans, which can change the paths of tropical storms in the region. The area is home to more than 650 million people, and ocean warming is a key factor in the increased frequency and intensity of typhoons in Southeast Asia.
“Our study shows that as cyclones travel across warmer oceans, they pull in more water vapour and heat,” said Benjamin Horton, director of NTU’s Earth Observatory of Singapore and a co-author of the research. “That means stronger winds, heavier rainfall, and more flooding when the typhoons hit land.”
Lead author Andra Garner of Rowan University’s School of Earth and Environment said people living along the region’s coastlines were the most vulnerable.
“There were two takeaways: First, we should reduce emissions to curb the impacts of future storms,” Garner said. “Second, we should act now to protect those coastlines, which will likely see worse impacts of tropical cyclones, regardless of future emissions.”
Parts of Asia are still dealing with the effects of Typhoon Yagi earlier this month. With peak wind speeds of at least 203km/h, Yagi was the second most powerful tropical cyclone in the world so far this year, after July’s Hurricane Beryl. Yagi caused a lot of destruction, particularly in northern Vietnam and Thailand, where many farms and villages were severely flooded and in danger of landslides. In Vietnam, the death toll was at least 226.
Agence France-Presse
What is the difference between a typhoon and a hurricane?
Hurricanes and typhoons are different names for the same kind of storm. The names we use for these storms depend on where they happen.
In the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific oceans, they are called hurricanes. In the Northwest Pacific, they are called typhoons. In the South Pacific and Indian oceans, they are called tropical cyclones or severe cyclonic storms.
These storms are caused by high humidity and ocean temperatures higher than 26 degrees Celsius.