Hong Kong issued its highest storm warning, Hurricane Signal No. 10, early Wednesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa approached the South China coast, threatening millions with powerful winds and torrential rain. This marks the second time the city has raised its top-level alert in a single year, a rare event not seen since 1964.
The latest storm highlights a concerning trend. According to Hong Kong Observatory records, in the first half of the 2020s, the city has already issued 22 Signal No. 8 warnings—the alert level that suspends work and school activities—for typhoons. This figure nearly matches the total for the entire previous decade.
This escalation in severe weather has amplified global concerns about the impact of climate change. While the total number of tropical cyclones has not increased over the past century, a 2021 report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted it is “likely” that a larger proportion of these storms are reaching major intensity levels, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane or stronger.
According to Hu Hongjun, a meteorology blogger and former senior scientific officer at the Hong Kong Observatory, the link is becoming clearer. “While research has not yet shown a significant increase in the total number of tropical cyclones, some studies suggest that while there may be fewer overall, those that do form are becoming stronger,” he said.
The science behind this intensification is well-understood. “Tropical cyclones draw their energy from sea surface temperature,” Hu explained. As global warming heats the oceans, it provides more fuel for storms to form and strengthen. This leads to higher wind speeds and, because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, more intense rainfall.
A November 2024 paper from the research group Climate Central found that human-caused ocean warming increased the maximum wind speeds of Atlantic hurricanes by an estimated 30 km/h between 2019 and 2023. Similarly, research following Hurricane Harvey in 2017 warned that climate change could make such extreme rainfall events three times more likely.
As storms become more powerful, experts emphasize the need for greater public preparedness. Hu advises residents to identify safe locations in their homes away from windows and to avoid venturing out, particularly to underground areas. The risks were tragically highlighted during Super Typhoon Hato in 2017, which killed ten people in Macau, some of whom drowned in flooded basements and parking garages.
At the government level, experts call for infrastructure upgrades, such as higher sea walls and new floodgates. Meanwhile, environmental groups like Greenpeace urge authorities to address the root cause by accelerating the transition to renewable energy and developing green transportation to mitigate the escalating effects of climate change.
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