Hong Kong can expect fewer but stronger typhoons in the future, a former assistant director of the Observatory has warned, with storms lasting longer and potentially becoming even more destructive than in the past.
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Leung Wing-mo, spokesman for the Hong Kong Meteorological Society, said tape would not protect property against the force of strong waves, and urged the use of wooden panels and additional breakwaters instead.
“If we follow the mainstream opinion of scientists worldwide, the number of tropical cyclones under the effect of climate change will not increase; in fact, it will decrease,” he said.
“The Western Pacific and South China Sea may get about 30 tropical cyclones on average per year, the number might not even hit 30 in the future; it could 26, 27 or 28. There would be a slight decrease.”
However, Leung pointed out that the proportion of strong typhoons would increase despite their overall decline in number.
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“The ratio of super typhoons will be higher, with more of them. Naturally, the destruction will also be greater,” he said, adding the duration of such storms at their strongest would also be longer.
“If the period during which the typhoon’s winds are at their strongest increases, its destructive power will also grow, combined with the fact that rainfall it brings will be greater than before,” he said.