The Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) predicted in a statement yesterday that there will be five to eight tropical cyclones affecting Macau during the year, which would be “normal to high”, with the possibility of severe or super typhoons.
According to the statement, the typhoon season this year will start in mid-June or even earlier, slightly earlier than the climatic average, with the La Niña phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific fading, which may develop into an El Niño in the summer.
According to Wikipedia, La Niña (“The Girl” in Spanish) is a complex weather pattern that occurs every few years, as a result of variations in ocean temperatures in the equatorial band of the Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon occurs as strong winds blow warm water at the ocean’s surface away from South America, across the Pacific Ocean towards Indonesia.
According to an official website of the United States government, El Niño (“The Boy” in Spanish) is a warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The low-level surface winds, which normally blow from east to west along the equator (“easterly winds”), instead weaken or, in some cases, start blowing the other direction (from west to east or “westerly winds”). El Niño recurs irregularly, from two years to a decade.
Meanwhile, the statement noted, with the global warming trend, the average temperature during this year’s rainy season, which runs from April to September, is expected to be normal to relatively high, while cumulative precipitation is expected to be normal. However, there is a risk of extreme heavy precipitation during the rainy season, the statement said.
In view of the frequent occurrence of extreme weather phenomena in recent years and the onset of the typhoon and rainy season, the bureau urged the public to pay close attention to the latest meteorological information and prepare for the typhoon and rainy season.
This image provided by the Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) yesterday shows its forecast for this year’s tropical cyclones and precipitation. – Image by SMG
