Climate change 'revved up' deadly Philippine storms

Study shows global warming exacerbated conditions for six back-to-back storms

- David Fogarty

Climate change intensified an unprecedented six back-to-back storms that killed more than 170 people in the Philippines between October and November 2024, a study published on Dec 13 found.

Over the course of 23 days, the five typhoons and one tropical storm displaced 1.4 million people and caused severe damage to infrastructure and the loss of homes and crops, with early estimates of economic losses of nearly US$500 million (S$672 million).

The analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international scientific collaboration, found that more typhoons hitting the Philippines are reaching Category 3 to 5 levels, with 5 as the maximum, as fossil fuel emissions heat up the planet and change the climate.

The research team from the Philippines, Britain and the Netherlands found that climate change nearly doubled the likelihood of conditions that formed and fuelled the typhoons - namely sea surface temperature, sea level pressure, air temperature and humidity.

Using computer modelling, the researchers found that climate change has also made it 25 per cent more likely that at least three Category 3 to 5 typhoons will hit the Philippines in a year.