19호 태풍 한반도 북상 가능성,...올해 태풍 유독 많은 이유
While the country is still recovering from the aftermath of Mitag,... another typhoon could be headed our way.
There's been an unusually high frequency of typhoons lately.
Lee Kyung-eun explains why.
The weather in September has never been this turbulent in South Korea's history.
As soon as autumn began, the country was hit by a series of typhoons which usually arrive in late summer.
According to weather agency data, Korea sees an average of 2.9 typhoons each year.
As far as September is concerned, there is usually one,... or two on very rare occasions.
Only eight times in Korea's history, have there been two typhoons in September.
But this year that record has been broken.
In the past couple of weeks, three typhoons have affected the Korean Peninsula, with the season's 13th storm Lingling, the 17th Tapah, and the latest Mitag.
It is also the first time in nearly 70 years,... that the country has seen seven typhoons in a year since 1959.
With the possibility of another typhoon on the way,...experts are pointing to climate change as the main cause of the abnormally high typhoon occurrences.
"Typhoons are generated by anti-cyclones in the Northern Pacific region. Usually, the anti-cyclone expands to the Peninsula during the summer and dissipates in the fall as cold air from China pushes it down. But this year, the anti-cyclone has remained present until early-fall, paving the way for typhoons to enter the Peninsula."
Climate change is not only raising the frequency of typhoons but also their intensity.
For that, experts blame global warming.
"The warmer the ocean gets, the stronger the typhoon gets. It is because warm sea waters generate energy as they evaporate, and typhoons use that as fuel to strengthen. Due to global warming, the sea temperature is rising, making it optimal for more powerful typhoons."
What's worse is that autumn typhoons tend to cause more damage.
As cool air and hot air from the typhoon clash, they trigger strong winds and high precipitation.
Like the case of South Korea's autumn typhoons, climate change is contributing to a higher frequency of natural disasters, and threatening many lives.
While the recovery efforts is critical, maybe it is time to take more fundamental action for the future.
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang news.
