Climate change may have played role in record number of region’s super typhoons, Hong Kong meteorologist says
Northwest region of Pacific Ocean has generated 25 named tropical storms this year, up from 19 recorded during typhoon season in 2023
Climate change may have led to the record number of super typhoons in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean this year, including three that affected Hong Kong, a meteorologist has said.
But the city was unlikely to be hit with any further typhoons in the remainder of the year despite the rare case of four tropical cyclones forming simultaneously in the region in November.
Shun Chi-ming, former chief of the Observatory, said on Monday rising sea temperatures favoured the formation and intensification of tropical cyclones.
“This is also the first time in November that four tropical cyclones have appeared simultaneously in the northwest Pacific,” he wrote on his social media page.
“Currently, sea surface temperatures in the central South China Sea, east of the Philippines, and even east of Taiwan are still above 28 degrees Celsius [82.4 Fahrenheit], about 1 to 2 degrees higher than normal.”
He also noted that Man-yi, which is expected to skirt about 400km (248 miles) to the south of Hong Kong on Tuesday morning, was the 16th tropical storm and fifth super typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.
