Unprecedented sea surface warmth is fueling exceptionally severe cyclones across East and South-East Asia, claiming dozens of lives and disrupting critical infrastructure. The UK Met Office warned that the current El Niño event could become the strongest in living memory, with impacts lasting through February or March. Recent extreme storms have triggered widespread flight cancellations, cut power to 15,000 households in Okinawa, and forced nearly one million evacuation orders across Japan.
Key points
The accumulated cyclone energy index for East and South-East Asia is forecast to hit near…: The accumulated cyclone energy index for East and South-East Asia is forecast to hit nearly twice its thirty-year historical average.
Altered wind patterns are driving typhoons to generate farther east, allowing them to gai…: Altered wind patterns are driving typhoons to generate farther east, allowing them to gain immense strength over warmer ocean stretches.
China's climate agency and meteorological forecasters project elevated ocean temperatures…: China's climate agency and meteorological forecasters project elevated ocean temperatures and volatile weather will persist until at least February or March.
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For people living along the coastlines of the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Japan, extreme weather is a familiar reality. However, the past few months have brought an unusually severe spell of storms, with their intensity and unpredictable movements causing widespread devastation.
A series of powerful weather systems, intensified by the El Niño phenomenon, has claimed dozens of lives, disrupted air travel, damaged infrastructure and destroyed crops across large parts of East Asia.
According to BBC, in October, Taiwan virtually came to a standstill as an enormous storm approached its north-eastern coastline. The typhoon, large enough to cover the island of 23 million people, generated winds of up to 295 kmph (193 mph), comparable to those of a Category 5 hurricane. Its strength was sufficient to destroy houses and generate powerful, potentially destructive waves.
However, the storm did not make landfall in Taiwan, passing close to the island while bringing heavy rainfall. Despite avoiding a direct hit, it caused significant disruption across the region. Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. In the Philippines' Batanes archipelago, coastal…
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