Typhoons in Southeast Asia are forming closer to shore, intensifying faster and lasting longer over land due to climate change, according to a study released Wednesday by US and Singaporean researchers.
Relayed in the scientific journal Climate and Atmospheric Sciencethe study “highlights significant changes in the behavior of tropical cyclones in Southeast Asia.”
These changes include “increased formation near the coast and slower movement over land, which could pose new risks to the region,” say researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, Rowan University in New Jersey and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
Coastal communities and cities such as Hai Phong in Vietnam and the Thai capital Bangkok would thus “face unprecedented threats from longer-lasting and more intense storms,” the study said.
“Our study shows that as cyclones move through warmer oceans due to climate change, they absorb more water vapour and heat,” said Benjamin Horton, director of NTU’s Earth Observatory in Singapore and co-author of the study.
“This means stronger winds, heavier rains and more flooding when typhoons make landfall,” he added.
Lead author Andra Garner, of Rowan University’s School of Earth and Environment, said people living along the region’s densely populated coasts were most vulnerable.
“There are two things to remember: first, we should act to reduce emissions, to limit the effects of future storms,” Mr.me Garner.
“Second, we should act now to protect these coasts for the future, which will likely see worsening impacts from tropical cyclones regardless of future emissions,” she concluded.
Last week, heavy rains caused by the typhoon Gaemi caused severe flooding in the Philippine capital Manila and parts of Kaohsiung city in Taiwan.
The typhoon, the most powerful to hit Taiwan in eight years, left at least five dead and hundreds injured.
In the Philippines, it exacerbated seasonal rains and triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 30 people.