Skip to playerSkip to main content
Extreme weather expert says global warming increasing storms in Asia

Global warming is increasing the frequency of tropical storms and typhoons in Asia, according to an extreme weather expert on Wednesday, September 24.

"Expect more super typhoons, not only to hit the South China coast, but maybe even other parts of Asia," said Johnny Chan, an atmospheric scientist at the Asia-Pacific Typhoon Collaborative Research Centre.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday, while heavy downpours in Taiwan resulted in the deaths of 14 people.

In Hong Kong, huge waves crashed over areas of the Asian financial hub's eastern and southern shoreline, submerging some roads alongside residential properties.

REUTERS VIDEO

Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe
Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net
Follow us:
Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook
Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram
Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter
DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion

Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital

Check out our Podcasts:
Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify
Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts
Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic
Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer
Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher
Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein
Soundcloud: https://tmt.ph/soundcloud

#themanilatimes
#tmtnews
#worldnews
Transcript
00:00Most of the typhoons, when they develop in the western Pacific, they move towards the west,
00:07and the typhoon can continue to develop if it doesn't get impeded by land or by other dry air
00:17and so on. So this time, Ragazza developed in the western Pacific and then moved through the Luzon
00:22Strait over very warm waters and under favorable atmospheric conditions, and so therefore it
00:30gets unimpeded as it goes through the Luzon Strait and goes right straight into the South China Sea.
00:36And because of that, it can continue to develop and therefore became the
00:43strongest typhoon this year to hit China.
00:45The closest that can come to comparison is Typhoon Mankut in 2018, which passed about the same
00:59distance from Hong Kong and made about the same, I expect that it will make land for about the same
01:06area along the South China coast. So this time, many of the citizens had the experience of Mankut,
01:14and so they would try to be prepared in terms of taping the windows and staying indoors and stay
01:23away from the coastline and so on. So far, as far as we can see, the damage has been minimal.
01:37Most of the building codes were designed based on the past data,
01:42but the past data would not be accurate anymore for the future. So if you have new buildings and if you
01:49stick to the current building codes, then you will be subject to stronger winds in the future.
01:59And so the planning of new buildings will need to be updated in terms of the wind loading.
02:07And also, if you are building something along the coastal areas, you also need to think about
02:14what the storm surge would would cause you problems in the future, because not only do you have stronger
02:22typhoons, you can also have you will also have higher sea level because of global warming.
02:28You have to you will have more moisture in the atmosphere and water temperature is also high.
02:34And therefore, you would expect to have the once the storm develops, it has more energy.
02:42And so you can expect the storm to become even more intense in the future.
02:47So you should expect to have more super typhoons, not only to hit the South China coast,
02:53but maybe even other parts of Asia.
03:07you
Comments

Recommended