El Nino triggers intense typhoons across East Asia
Warm Pacific waters are driving extreme weather and powerful storms in the Philippines, China, Taiwan and Japan, according to BBC News.
The El Nino weather pattern is causing intense and unpredictable storms across East Asia, resulting in deaths, crop destruction and infrastructure damage, according to BBC News. The phenomenon involves warm waters pooling in the eastern Pacific and altered wind patterns that drive extreme weather globally.
In October, Typhoon Champi, with winds of 295km/h, skirted the coast of Taiwan. While it did not make landfall, it caused hundreds of flight cancellations in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. The storm also caused power cuts in Japan's Okinawa islands and closed highways in the Philippines' Batanes archipelago.
The UK Met Office has forecast this year's El Nino to be exceptionally strong, with the pattern likely to last until February or March. Sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific recently rose to 4C above normal, the highest recorded since 1949.
Ana Liza Solis, head of climatology at the Philippines' national weather bureau, said the Pacific can be likened to someone burning with fever. She added at a Manila press briefing in September that it could go into convulsions soon.
Climatologist Rafaela Jane Delfino conducted simulations showing that higher temperatures increased total accumulated rainfall by 26 per cent during recent storms in the Philippines. Delfino stated in a University of the Philippines article that leaders must understand climate hazards to improve community preparedness.
In response to the season, Japan has urged citizens to stockpile essentials, while China is upgrading its monitoring systems. The Philippines and its neighbours are preparing for potential disruptions to food production, specifically rice.