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Hong Kong weather
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Are Hong Kong’s typhoons becoming stronger? Expect longer, more unpredictable storms, Observatory chief says

  • Hong Kong Observatory director Chan Pak-wai says proportion of strong typhoons will increase, while they will move slower and affect areas for longer
  • Effects of global warming may be partly to blame, according to Chan, who highlights ‘frequent emergence of extreme weather’

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The Hong Kong Observatory expects four to seven tropical storms to hit the city this year. Photo: Sam Tsang
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Typhoons hitting Hong Kong are likely to be more powerful, long-lasting and unpredictable than those in previous years, according to the head of the city’s weather forecaster who has partly attributed the change to global warming.
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Observatory director Chan Pak-wai on Saturday explained the pattern of typhoons had changed and extreme weather would become more frequent, but maintained an earlier forecast that the city could expect four to seven tropical storms this year.

“The proportion of strong typhoons will increase, and they will have slower movement so they will affect an area for a longer period of time, and also move more northerly,” Chan told a radio programme.

Observatory director Chan Pak-wai says more heavy rain in some parts of the region is another possible effect of global warming. Elson Li
Observatory director Chan Pak-wai says more heavy rain in some parts of the region is another possible effect of global warming. Elson Li

Typhoon Talim kicked off Hong Kong’s storm season last month, bringing most of the city to a standstill under a No 8 warning signal. Tropical Storm Doksuri then missed the city but battered mainland China’s southeast coast and brought rare floods to Beijing.

Earlier this week, Typhoon Khanun killed two in Japan’s Okinawa and knocked out electricity to more than 200,000 households in the prefecture.
Dozens of Hongkongers were stranded at the popular tourist destination and appealed for help from city authorities before flights resumed on Friday.
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The typhoon has already skirted past the western shores of Okinawa’s islands but is expected to move east and strike the prefecture again over the weekend, before turning north early next week and potentially reaching Kyushu island.

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