As COP29 has entered its first week of negotiations with apparently reluctant climate actions, countries most at risk of climate impacts are bearing the brunt the most, with the Philippines experiencing unprecedented simultaneous occurrence of multiple storm systems this month
At least four tropical storms have developed almost simultaneously in the same water this month, a rare phenomenon that once occurred over 70 years ago, according to NASA Earth Observatory.
Following the weird behaviour of Trami late last month, which apparently looped over before being followed by a rapidly intensified Super Typhoon Kong Rey, the western Pacific has been generating multiple storms, namely Yinxing, Toraji, Usagi, and Man-Yi, almost simultaneously since early this month, stressing out disaster response and recovery efforts, especially in the Philippines, the world’s most climate risk country.
According to NASA Earth, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that it was the first time since records began in 1951 that multiple storms co-existed in the Pacific in November. Typhoon season in the West Pacific normally stretches across the entire year, but most storms form between May and October. November typically sees three named storms, with one becoming a super typhoon, based on the 1991-2000 average. The four storms, however, intensified into either a typhoon or a super typhoon.
As captured by the agency’s satellite images on Nov 11, the four storms were either approaching the Philippines or had already passed over the islands and surrounding areas.
Typhoon Yinxing (Marce) hit the Philippines on Nov 7, making landfall on northern Luzon. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that the storm had sustained winds of 240 kilometres (150 miles) per hour, making it a super typhoon, which was equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane before weakening and hitting Vietnam on Nov 12.
On Nov 11, Typhoon Toraji (Nika) made landfall on the northeastern side of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon. The JMA reported that the storm reached peak intensity the night before, with sustained winds of 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour.
Typhoon Usagi (Ofel), the 15th tropical cyclone to affect the Philippines this year, closely followed the path of Toraji. On Nov 11, it rapidly intensified to become a super typhoon with the winds recorded on Nov 13 at around 240 kilometres (150 miles) per hour, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. It made landfall in the northern Philippines on Thursday.
To the east, Man-Yi was a tropical storm with sustained winds of 85 kilometres (50 miles) per hour as captured on the images on Nov 11. The JTWC has projected that the storm is likely to intensify into a typhoon and make landfall on the Philippines on Nov 17.
Weird storm
In late October, two storms had already been under a close watch_Trami and Kong Rey.
Kong-Rey (Leon) originated in the east of the Philippines’ sea as a low pressure and then tropical depression after the previous Trami (Kristine) storm before entering the country’s Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Oct 26. According to PAGASA, the Philippines’ atmospheric monitoring agency, the storm just rapidly intensified from a severe tropical storm and then a typhoon in the early and late morning of Oct 28.
The Philippines and the SE mainland had been hit hard by Trami some days before. It was first formed in the east of the Philippines’ sea on Oct 21 as a tropical depression and made landfall in the country as a severe tropical storm on Oct 22, leaving a devastating tracks and damages. According to UNOCHA’s ReliefWeb, during its passage over the Philippines on Oct 23-24, it caused at least 111 fatalities, 74 injured people and 30 still missing. In addition, a total of over 7.1 million people were affected and almost 1,000,000 displaced across most regions of the country, the agency noted.
The storm was behaving weirdly before dissipating in the South China Sea. It briefly spun itself into a typhoon before reaching Vietnam on Oct 27 as a severe tropical storm, traversing over its eastern Quang Nam province before looping back to the sea. Such a loop-over act initially frightened the Philippines for fears that it would return to hit the country again.
In early September, the region also encountered a devastating impact from another Super Typhoon Yagi. The storm first formed in the east of the Philippines’ sea and made landfall in the country on Sep 2 before traversing southern China and making landfall in the north of Vietnam on Sep 7 with a vast track of damages stretching deep into Thailand and Myanmar, where it dissipated.
Yagi reportedly killed over 20 people in the Philippines, left around 344 people reported dead or missing in Vietnam, and hundreds more have died in Myanmar, prompting it to be among one of the most severe storms of Asia in decades.
Scientists are now concerned about the impact of climate change, which prompts these storms to become more severe and intensified due to their changing circumstances such as warming seas and atmosphere.
Thailand, the world’s 9th most at risk of climate impacts, entered a winter season in early November but it remains vigilant for the coming storms especially the South of the country. However, the cold mass from China is moving down, this phenomenon helps weaken and dissipate the storms before affecting the country during the winter season. The influence can still be felt, such as rainfall in the east to the west of the country, according to climate experts.
Indie • in-depth online news agency
to “bridge the gap” and “connect the dots” with critical and constructive minds on development and environmental policies in Thailand and the Mekong region; to deliver meaningful messages and create the big picture critical to public understanding and decision-making, thus truly being the public’s critical voice