This year’s typhoon season is expected start in late June at the earliest, after which Macau could be affected by about four to seven tropical cyclones, the local observatory said in a statement on Friday.
The weather station pointed out that the appearance of the typhoon season this year was expected to be later than the climatological normal, while this year’s tropical cyclones were forecast to possibly reach the level of a high-category cyclone, i.e., a strong typhoon.
Tropical cyclones are the most serious natural disasters affecting Macau, with the onslaught mainly concentrated between May and November every year, according to the local weather station.
The statement by the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) said that under the general trend of global warming, it was forecast that the average temperature during the rainy season, i.e., between April and September this year, will be normal to high, while cumulative precipitation will be normal, but with the possibility of periods of extremely heavy rainfall.
The observatory’s review of the number of tropical cyclones generated in the Northwest Pacific Ocean in 2023, according to the statement, pointed out the impact of climate change on Macau which has become more pronounced in recent years, with the record of a total of 17 tropical cyclones last year, lower than the climatic mean of 25.1 tropical cyclones per annum.
Macau was affected by five tropical cyclones last year, among which three required the hoisting of Typhoon Signal No.8 or above, the statement said, adding that Super Typhoon Saola was the fourth tropical cyclone that required the hoisting of Typhoon Signal No.10 in the past seven years.
A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least 119 km/h, according to Wikipedia.
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterised by a low-pressure centre, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by different names, such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, and tropical depression.
This image provided by the Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) on Friday shows its forecast of four to seven tropical cyclones from late June at the earliest, as well as a “normal to relatively high” temperature in April-September.
