Unusually active typhoon season in China

Due to abnormal movement in atmosphere circulation and relatively high sea-surface temperatures, China experienced an unusually active typhoon season this year, with seven tropical storms making landfall in the country, meteorologists said.

An average typhoon season from January to August brings less than five tropical storms, bringing an average wind speed of 28 meters per second, according to the statistics of the National Meteorological Center.

But this year, seven typhoons formed, with an average wind speed of 38 meters per second, affecting most parts of the country, Gao Suanzhu, a senior engineer at the center said.

Although higher sea-surface temperature is one of the key indicators determining an active typhoon season, Chen Yu, climate expert of the National Climate Center, said it is unscientific to connect global warming with this year’s abnormal activity of typhoons, because in global terms, the number of typhoons formed have not dramatically increased.

As the typhoon season comes to an end in September, climate indicators show an El Nino event may affect China in autumn, but the impact is hard to predict, Chen said.