Hua Gaza: After 1964, the first time that wind ball n ° 10 was seriously serious. Do typhoons become more and more frequent? – BBC Chinese news
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Under the blow of Super Typhoon Ragasa, Hong Kong hung on the wind ball n ° 10 early on Wednesday, September 24, which has been the first time since 1964 and the second time in a century, this highest level of warning from Typhon has been issued twice a year.
Based on the Hong Kong Observatory file alone, only half of the 2020s have passed. In addition to Hua Gaza, Hong Kong published 22 signals from Typhon n ° 8 – it is the level of signal which sparked the suspension of the city classes – the number of times is almost equivalent in total of ten years in the 2010s.
Global climate change has led to frequent extreme weather conditions attracting increasing attention, and environmental initiatives and even the United Nations have also warned that human economic activities will suffer serious losses in their lives.
So what do we say the number of strong typhoons?
Is there frequency conversion in southern China when a strong typhoon strikes?
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Tropical cyclones start from the tropical low pressure and turn into tropical storms and strong tropical storms. After reaching sufficient intensity, they become typhoons. Typhoons are called hurricanes in North America, but are called differently in the Indian Ocean and Australia.
The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) stressed that tropical cyclones have killed nearly 780,000 people in the past 50 years. Typhon’s warning is an important measure to prevent victims.
In April 1930, the Royal Observatory of Hong Kong during the British colonial period held the “directors of the meteorological office who met from the Far East region”, and a set of Typhon signals was formulated to be used in the district. Over the course of history, the improved version of the same set of signals is always used in Hong Kong and Macao, commonly known as “wind ball”, divided into five levels: 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10. Signal n ° 8 will trigger the suspension of work and classes, so it has an indicative meaning.
According to the definition of the Hong Kong Observatory and the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the signal n ° 8 is sent, which means that the tropical cyclones Hong Kong or Macao will generally be affected by strong winds or storms, with continuous wind speeds from 63 to 117 kilometers per hour, the gusts of wind are more likely to exceed 180 kilometers per hour, wind can continue. This continuous wind speed is equivalent to levels of 8 to 11 of the extended version of the Beaufort scale.
Compared to Typhon’s warning of the fourth level in continental China, the highest red level covers the signals of Hong Kong and Macao n ° 8 to 10.
According to statistics from the Hong Kong Observatory, in about five years from 2020 to September 2025, Hong Kong published 29 balls of wind n ° 8 or more, including 22 of which involve typhoons, strong typhoons or super typhoons – which is almost equivalent in total of ten years in the 2010s.
However, is this set of figures the start of a trend or is it just accidental? Hu Hongjun, a meteorological blogger who lives in the United Kingdom and former main scientific director of the Hong Kong Observatory, believes that this remains to be studied.
Hu Hongjun told the Chinese BBC: “In fact, scientists are constantly researching the relationship between the number of tropical cyclones and climate change, but the data that we have temporarily seen does not indicate that this is a very significant relationship. Some studies even say that there may be less, but tropical cyclones will become stronger.”
The sixth evaluation report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2021 stressed that although the frequency of tropical cyclones in the world has not increased in the last century and that there are even signs of decline, it is possible that a greater proportion of cyclones reaches category 3 hurricans in the United States-that is to say. This is equivalent to a strong typhoon on the continent, Hong Kong and Macao, or a level 15 wind.
What are the causes of typhoon strengthening?
Image source,Zhejiang Daily Press Group / VCG via Getty Images
Hu Hongjun believes that although it has not yet been proven that global warming will lead to a strong increase in the storm, from a meteorological point of view, this will turn into a trend “not without reason”.
“Tropical cyclones require a lot of energy to generate. Where does this energy come from? It comes from the temperature of sea water.”
“When the overall temperature of the sea surface increases, it theoretically makes tropical cyclones easier to generate.”
An article published in November 2024 by the American civilian Research Organization Central Climate tries to illustrate this point.
The article emphasizes that tropical cyclones absorb more energy due to warming of the sea, which will lead to faster and stronger wind speeds: between 2019 and 2023, the heating of the ocean artificially led to accelerating the speed of the maximum wind of hurricanes in the Americas of 30 kilometers per hour.
In addition, atmospheric warming will also improve its ability to store water and gas, resulting in stronger precipitation.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 is known as the strongest hurricane that has been met in the United States in 13 years. Another research team led by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) warned in a newsletter that climate change will increase the chances of heavy rains like Hurricane Harvey.
What should residents do if the typhoon becomes stronger?
Image source,Reuters
Hu Hongjun, a former head of weather forecasts for the Hong Kong Observatory, believes that climate change will eventually increase the extreme weather, which is an increasingly consensual vision in the scientific community. Consequently, the general public must improve his personal conscience of disaster prevention.
“On a personal level, you need to know what you need to prepare when you fight the wind. For example, you have to find a home at home that you can hide safely. If the glass window is broken, it will save your life at least. Do not go to the parking lot to leave after having fought the wind and do not continue the wind.”
Super Typhoon Hato killed ten people in Macao in 2017, including people drowned in flooded stores and underground parking lots.
Hu Hongjun also mentioned that it was also necessary to consider the conditions of construction of disaster prevention in government infrastructure, as there is a place that must increase the embankment and if there is a place that is suitable for the addition of flood control doors.
Environmental groups believe that it is more important to increase the use of new energies and other means to prevent the intensification of global warming. The Greenpeace Hong Kong branch exhorts the Sar government to give priority to the development of renewable energies and shipping and green transport.
