SUPER typhoons developing in the western North Pacific, including those that pass through the Philippines, are now forming with heavier rains and stronger winds than those recorded in past decades, a new climate study has found.
In a September report, climate research group Climameter said storms similar to Super Typhoon Nando (international name: Ragasa) have become around 1°C warmer.
A typical storm now carries up to 10 millimeters more rainfall per day and blows about 4 kilometers per hour faster than comparable typhoons in the past, the study indicated.
‘They contribute to more extreme rainfall and flooding risks, particularly in the Philippines’ mountainous terrain and neighboring coastal regions,’ climate scientists Davide Faranda, Tommaso Alberti and Gianmarco Mengaldo said.
The researchers analyzed weather patterns linked to Nando’s rapid intensification, comparing how similar storms would behave under current conditions.
They are based on data from 1987 to 2023 versus how they might have developed in an earlier climate, from 1950 to 1986.
Results showed that recent super typhoons have shallower surface pressures by about 1 hectopascal, which marks stronger storm systems. Warmer sea and air temperatures also add more moisture to the atmosphere, meaning increased rainfall along the typhoon’s track.
Further, the report added that precipitation changes show up to 10 millimeters more rain each day, while winds are slightly faster near coastlines and offshore areas.
The study also compared conditions across several locations. Urban areas such as Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Calayan in northern Luzon now experience significantly wetter storms, while Hong Kong recorded minimal changes in temperature and a slight dip in wind intensity.
Some shifts in storm paths or rainfall distribution, they noted, could be influenced by natural climate cycles, such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, or a decades-long natural warming and cooling cycle of the North Atlantic Ocean
‘However, the long-term changes in pressure, precipitation and temperature strongly suggest that the event’s severity is largely consistent with human-driven climate change,’ Faranda, Alberti and Mengaldo explained.
Projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) showed that tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific may become more intense even if they occur less frequently.
The panel also anticipates heavier rainfall and higher storm surges in the region, posing increasing threats to countries like the Philippines.
Between September 21 and 23, 2025, Super Typhoon Nando rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm before striking northern Luzon and eastern Taiwan with torrential rain, floods and landslides.
Philippine authorities reported at least 11 deaths as floodwaters and slope failures hit several provinces.