`Super typhoons` may hit Japan if global warming continues

A `super typhoon`, stronger than the deadly Hurricane Katrina that devastated the southern US in 2005 may hit Japan in the later half of the century if global warming continues, a study said.

Tokyo: A `super typhoon`, stronger than the
deadly Hurricane Katrina that devastated the southern US in
2005 may hit Japan in the later half of the century if global
warming continues, a study said.

Typhoons packing winds of at least 241.2 kilometres per
hour are often called super typhoons but the anticipated one
may blow as strong as 288 kph on the ground, the study said.

Researchers from Nagoya University and state-run
Meteorological Research Institute today said many super
typhoons may develop between 2074 and 2087 due to a projected
2 degree C rise in sea temperatures in western Pacific ocean
south of Japan.

"Given that global warming is under way, it is little
wonder that typhoons develop in an extreme way," Nagoya
University associate professor Kazuhisa Tsuboki said. "The
point is how we will forecast them and take disaster control
measures," he said.

The study is based on findings of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change saying average global temperatures
will rise about 3 degree C from pre-industrial levels at the
end of the century.

Using the advanced supercomputer Earth Simulator, the
team predicted in detail the occurrence and development
of typhoons around Japan during the 2074-2087 period.

A rise in sea temperatures generally makes typhoons more
powerful as they develop by taking energy from warm seas.
Such typhoons would also bring heavy rains as global warming
will increase water vapor in the air.

Bureau Report

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