I am writing my 1st article for the Hainan Talent Port website from the comfort of my apartment in Bukit Indah, Johore, West Malaysia. We are here during the summer holidays to meet up with our 2 sons, Zhiyan and Neysan.
There are many similarities between West Malaysia and Hainan in terms of weather conditions, flora and fauna, rural and urban landscapes, road transportation, and living conditions. In fact, Mona, my wife, feels that the cost of living in Johore Bahru, at least, and Haikou, is very similar. There will be opportunities in the near future to do a more detailed comparison of West Malaysia and Hainan for the website.
There is a significant difference between West Malaysia and Hainan, which is on my mind as we plan to go back to our beloved Hainan in two weeks’ time. There is no typhoon (tropical cyclone) season in West Malaysia. Meanwhile, the typhoon season in Hainan had started with Typhoon Maysak making landfall in Hainan on July 3rd as a tropical storm before moving into mainland China.
In fact, the only time a tropical cyclone affected West Malaysia was on 2 November 1989 when Typhoon Gay impacted the northern part of West Malaysia as it made landfall in southern Thailand, across the border, as a Category 3 typhoon.
As my PhD thesis was on the international law of climate change, my mind naturally drifts towards articles on climate change and extreme weather in the news media. On 2 June 2026, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva, Switzerland, released the following press statement: “Fueled by unusually warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific, El Niño conditions are developing and are set to influence global temperature and rainfall patterns, increasing the risk of extreme weather over the coming months.” It is clear that El Nino is back, and we expect extreme weather conditions in vulnerable regions around the world.
I am curious to know whether the presence of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions, which is the most important driver of interannual natural climate variability on a global scale with far-reaching consequences for agriculture, health, infrastructure, and livelihood, is correlated with the Super Typhoons making landfall in China.
The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) classifies the landfall intensity of tropical cyclones into 6 categories, in ascending order of intensities, namely: Tropical Depression (TD); Tropical Storm (TS); Severe Tropical Storm (STS); Typhoon (TY); Severe Typhoon (STY); and Super Typhoon (SuperTY). Super Typhoons have wind speeds above 51.0m/s, which is 16 and above on the Beaufort Scale. CMA has records of tropical cyclones making landfall on China since 1949 and the data sets are available on the CMA Tropical Cyclone Data Center for the western North Pacific Basin at the following: https://tcdata.typhoon.org.cn/en/index.html
Scanning through the list of records, you noticed that the number of tropical cyclones making landfall on China varied from year to year with no obvious pattern. The first Super Typhoon, Typhoon Marge, only occurred in 1973, making landfall on September 14th at Boao, Qionghai. In the past half-century, there have been 12 Super Typhoons affecting China, with half of them in the last decade from 2014 to 2024. Four of these Super Typhoons occurred during the 2014–2016 period when the El Nino was at its strongest in recent years. The most recent Super Typhoon Yagi also occurred during a very strong El Nino period in 2014.
However, there was no Super Typhoon making landfall in China during the very strong El Nino period from 1997 to 1998. According to Wikipedia, the 1997-1998 El Nino event saw 16 tropical cyclones when compared to an annual average of 8 tropical cyclones. Most of these cyclones shifted eastwards, away from China, with parts of the Cook Islands and French Polynesia impacted.
We in Asia should be on the lookout for tropical cyclones in the coming months till November. Please consult reliable typhoon trackers available on the internet, especially when we travel! Meteorological organizations in Asia are able to accurately track tropical cyclones in the Pacific Basin. The relevant authorities in China, based on data from these early warning systems, are well-prepared to minimize damage and take emergency measures to reduce loss of life and assets. Hence, we should heed the advisory notices from the Chinese authorities on tropical cyclones. I am pleased to report that there will be no tropical cyclone detected in the next two weeks to affect our flight back to our beloved Hainan.
Submit Cancel