‘Betty,’ ‘Pam,’ and climate change
TROPICAL storm “Betty” is expected to bring rains this weekend to Northern and Central Luzon, after moving westsouthwest across the Pacific with 75kilometer-per-hour winds. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has been tracking the storm since it started developing in the Pacific last Thursday. These last seven days, PAGASA has been informing the public of the movement of “Betty,” the second tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, after storm “Amang” during Pope Francis’ visit last January.
At the same time that “Betty” was moving towards the Philippines in the western Pacific, another Pacific cyclone “Pam” was wreaking havoc on the archipelago of Vanuatu in the South Pacific northeast of Australia. Last Friday, “Pam,” a super-cyclone with winds up to 320 kph, blew entire communities away in much the same way super-typhoon “Yolanda” devastated Leyte and Samar in 2013. Initial reports said 90 percent of the houses in the capital Port Vila were damaged.
The Vanuatu disaster came as the United Nations Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was being held in Sendai, Japan. This is one of the preparatory meetings to the UN Climate Change Conference to be held this December in Paris, France. It is hoped the nations of the world, especially China and the United States, will agree this December to reduce their industrial emissions that are believed causing much of the climate change that is in turn causing the powerful storms.
Here in the Philippines, we have learned our lessons from super- typhoon “Yolanda.” Where our people used to take typhoons more or less for granted, typhoon reports are now avidly followed. Orders for mandatory evacuation of endangered areas are not resisted as they used to. And PAGASA, coordinating with other international weather agencies, has faithfully tracked all weather disturbances. So that by the time they reach our shores, our people have been sufficiently warned.
Thus when storm “Betty” starts bringing rains to Northern and Central Luzon today, our people will be on the alert – just in case. PAGASA said “Betty” is not likely to strengthen into a super-typhoon. But there has been so much unpredictable weather in recent years, we have learned not to be complacent about typhoons and other weather disturbances.
When the UN conference takes place in Paris this December, the Philippines will be playing a key role as the site of the world’s most powerful typhoon ever to hit land. It is one of the nations French President Francoise Hollande has visited in his campaign to gather support for a world agreement on climate change.
Like Vanuatu, the Philippines is a prime exhibit on the destruction caused by climate change. And if agreement is finally reached this year after so many years of unsuccessful efforts, it will be due in great part to our harrowing experience which, with continued inaction from the nations of the world, could well become theirs as well.