Tropical cyclone possible later this month
Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) Director Leong Weng Kun said yesterday that Macau can expect to be affected by extreme weather more often due to global climate change.
Leong also said that a tropical cyclone is likely to form in the South China Sea before the end of this month, but the level of its possible impact on Macau was still to be estimated.
The weather chief made the remarks when attending yesterday’s current affairs phone-in programme hosted by Ou Mun Tin Toi, the Chinese-language radio channel of public broadcaster TDM.
Yesterday’s topic of the programme was about the bureau’s measures to improve its weather forecasting and the impact of climate change on Macau.
Leong said that his bureau “did not see abnormalities” in Macau’s weather conditions over recent months, but its temperature was on a rising trend compared to the same period of previous years.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record, Leong pointed out, adding that the world can expect to be affected by extreme weather more frequently due to climate change. Correspondingly, Leong said, Macau can expect to be affected more often by super typhoons, extreme rainstorms and extreme temperatures.
Leong also said that in recent years his bureau has been applying big data analytics more often with the aim of increasing its ability to forecast tropical cyclones, storm surges and rainstorms.
Leong said that the observatory was also improving its strategies to announce its latest weather forecasts to members of the public with the aim of enabling them to be better prepared for adverse weather conditions as soon as possible.
Leong also noted that that his bureau’s tropical cyclone and storm surge warning services have been awarded International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001 Quality Management Systems, recognising his bureau’s commitment to providing the public with better-quality and standardised weather forecasts.
Leong noted that his bureau signed an agreement with the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) in Beijing as well as one with the public University of Macau (UM) last year according to which the two entities are respectively helping his bureau strengthen its application of artificial intelligence (AI) with the aim of raising its weather forecasting ability.
70-pct accuracy rate in forecasting rainstorms
Leong also said that in the past few years his bureau was able to accurately forecast about 70 percent of the rainstorms that affected Macau every year. He underlined that accurate rainstorm forecasting has been a major challenge all over the world, adding that this challenge is even more prominent for Macau compared to other cities because of its small land size.
The weather chief pledged that his bureau will continue to use the newest technologies with the aim of achieving a higher accuracy rate in its rainstorm forecasting.
Meanwhile, Leong also said that a tropical cyclone is likely to form in the South China Sea late this month, but the level of its possible impact on Macau is still yet to be seen, he said.
Leong noted that Macau has so far hoisted tropical cyclone warning signals once this year, the period between late May and early last month during which Macau hoisted a No. 1 signal and a No. 3 signal.
Leong said that Macau’s typhoon season normally runs until October every year. However, he said, Macau has been affected by super typhoons more often over the past few years because of ocean warming. He noted that Macau hoisted a tropical cyclone warning signal even in December a few years ago, the one in December 2021.
Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) Director Leong Weng Kun speaks during yesterday’s phone-in programme hosted by public broadcaster TDM’s Chinese-language radio channel. – Photo courtesy of TDM
