[Ngo Climate Change] The Influence of Climate Change on Tropical Cyclones

[PS Low]

Dear colleagues,

I am informed that the attached report in my previous e-mail is too large
to go through your e-mail system.  Please see the link for the report at
the end of the following news item below.

With best wishes,

Pak

.......................
News ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee Considers Climate Change Impacts

6 February 2013: The 45th session of the UN Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)/World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Typhoon Committee considered, *inter alia*, urban flood risk management,
cyclone renaming, severe weather forecasting, an assessment report on the
influence of climate change on tropical cyclones.

At the session, which took place from 29 January to 1 February 2013, in
Hong Kong, China, the Typhoon Committee noted its new publication, “The
Second Assessment Report on the Influence of Climate Change on Tropical
Cyclones in the Typhoon Committee Region,” a summary and analysis of
research by member States on the long-term trends of tropical cyclone
activity in the western North Pacific basin. According to WMO, the region
claims the world's highest tropical cyclone activity, and in 2012 alone
experienced 25 events at “Tropical Storm” intensity or higher.

The report concludes that the influence of climate change on tropical
cyclone activity remains uncertain, given the difficulty of distinguishing
between the relative contributions of natural variations and climate change
linked to human activity, and calls for further research to clarify these
factors. The report also notes changes in regional tropical cyclone
activity, and its review of available studies on future projections for
tropical cyclone activity indicates that more models project decreases than
increases in frequency, but most project an increase in intensity and
precipitation rates.

During the session, the Typhoon Committee also noted the completion of a
best-practice guideline in the mitigation of urban flood risks under the
Urban Flood Risk Management Project, and discussed intentions to focus on
the implementation plan of the Synergized Standard Operating Procedures for
Coastal Multi-Hazards Early Warning System. They also discussed plans to
enhance the Typhoon Committee Disaster Information System, a database of
tropical cyclone-related damage data and statistics from members. In its
annual review of tropical cyclone names, the Committee discontinued the use
of “Washi,” the Severe Tropical Storm that devastated the Philippines in
December 2012, and replaced it by “Hato.”

The Typhoon Committee offers a forum for international collaboration to
build disaster resilience and mitigate the impacts of tropical cyclones in
the Asia-Pacific region. The 45th session was attended by 12 of its 14
members, which include: Cambodia; China; Democratic People's Republic of
Korea; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Macao,
China; Malaysia; the Philippines; Republic of Korea; Singapore; Thailand;
Viet Nam; and the US. [WMO Press
Release<http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/typhooncommitte.html>]
[Typhoon Committee Press
Release<http://www.typhooncommittee.org/45th/Docs/PRESS%20RELEASE%20eng.pdf>]
[Publication: Second Assessment Report on the Influence of Climate Change
on Tropical Cyclones in the Typhoon Committee
Region<http://www.typhooncommittee.org/45th/Docs/item%2011/2assessment_FINAL.pdf>
]

......................


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: PS Low <paksumlow at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 1:22 PM
Subject: The Influence of Climate Change on Tropical Cyclones
To: Ngoclimatechange at ngocentre.org.vn


Dear colleagues,


I think the attached report on "The Second Assessment Report on the
Influence of Climate Change on Tropical Cyclones in the Typhoon Committee
Region" by the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee may interest you.  Please share
it with your other colleagues.



With best regards,



Pak



Pak Sum Low

UKM-Yayasan Sime Darby Chair in Climate Change

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

43600 Bangi

Malaysia

E-mail: plow at ukm.my
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ngocentre.org.vn/pipermail/ngoclimatechange/attachments/20130219/32e020b5/attachment-0032.html