Revisited

No.123 Issue 1/2017

Title Weathering the Storms Remembering some of Asia’s devastating cyclones and typhoons There is a growing body of research indicating that warming temperatures are increasing the force of cyclones and typhoons. New research, published in Nature Geoscience in 2016, showed that typhoons in the Pacific had intensified by up to 15 percent on average since 1977, intensifying by 50 percent in the past 40 years due to warming seas. In a nutshell, the research indicates that the warmer water provides more energy to storms, creating optimal conditions for increases in wind speed. The intensity of a typhoon or cyclone is measured by the maximum sustained wind speed, but the destruction caused by intense winds, storm surges, rains and floods increases disproportionately: A 15 percent increase in intensity translates to a 50 percent rise in the destructive power of the storm. There is still debate whether this growth in typhoon intensity is due to manmade climate change, or natural climate change cycles, given the short time frame of measuring the destruction of super storms, but the researchers of the study are adamant that future global warming projections – as indicated by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – will correlate with intensifying typhoons and cyclones. Understanding the changes in super storm patterns can help affected areas prepare more effectively, given the storms’ devastating effects in terms of loss of life, human displacement and economic damages.