On the cloudy Thursday morning of September 25th, Hong Kong’s bustling streets and crowded MTR platforms signalled business as usual after Super Typhoon Ragasa swept past the city.
At first glance, you might have forgotten that a super typhoon just came and went 24 hours ago, but wherever you go, evidence of the storm’s ferocity lingers in the background. Trash was scattered across the pavement as rubbish bins rolled over from the fierce winds, while trees were pulled out of the ground or snapped in half as if made of cardboard.
The city was prepared for Ragasa; the SAR government and the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) issued warnings ahead of time, and employers adopted flexible work-from-home policies, and students had two days off thanks to the typhoon. And yet, Ragasa generated substantial damage to the city. The government reported 19 flooding cases, 393 reports of fallen trees, and two reports of landslides stemming from Ragasa’s impact.
Hong Kong’s strength lies in the community bouncing back from typhoons and returning to business as usual. However, that attitude should not deter us from contemplating how climate change is interconnected with the recent prevalence and damage of typhoons.
The city’s weather forecaster reported that 2025 broke the record for the most tropical cyclones, leading the HKO to issue tropical cyclone warning signals in a single calendar year, with the latest Tropical Cyclone Matmo becoming the 12th such storm of the year. Among them, Typhoon Wipha and Super Typhoon Ragasa triggered the Typhoon Signal No.10, the highest warning signal the Observatory can issue. It marks the first time in six decades that the Observatory issued two No.10 typhoon signals in the same year. In early October, Matmo became the fourth storm to approach the city in five weeks, fresh off the impacts of storms Tapah, Mitag, and Ragasa in September.
Behind the flurry of typhoons battering Hong Kong, climate change pulls the invisible strings that boost these monstrous storms. Tropical cyclones are formed in warm ocean waters, as they provide the necessary warmth and moisture to fuel the storm. Warm and moist air rises from the ocean before cooling and condensing after it rises to the atmosphere, creating a low-pressure zone that allows more air to rush in and lead to the formation of thunderstorms.
If the atmospheric and wind conditions are correct, the storm will intensify and form a typhoon, contributing to its strength. Due to the effects of global warming, the rise in seawater temperatures creates more favorable conditions for creating stronger typhoons.
Ragasa is a perfect example of how climate change influences the creation of powerful typhoons. According to Climate Central, a US nonprofit focusing on climate change, “Exceptionally warm sea surface temperatures along the typhoon’s path, through the Philippine Sea, were made at least 10 to 40 times more likely due to human-caused climate change.”
Through a rapid attribution framework conducted by the French research group ClimaMeter, researchers found that cyclones like Ragasa are strengthened by wetter, warmer, and windier conditions under climate change, which are attributed to human-driven activities such as greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to increased risks of more extreme rainfall and flooding.
Davide Faranda, an extreme weather researcher who co-authored the ClimaMeter study, said warmer sea surface temperatures and a more humid atmosphere are consistent with the broader trend of climate change amplifying the rainfall and strength of the strongest typhoons. Regarding how future typhoons may affect Hong Kong, Faranda said, “Hong Kong does not necessarily face more typhoons than neighboring regions, but its dense urban setting, coastal exposure, and location near frequent typhoon tracks make it particularly vulnerable. When strong storms approach, even if they don’t make landfall, Hong Kong often experiences high winds, storm surges, and intense rainfall, which can significantly disrupt daily life and infrastructure.”
A separate preliminary research conducted by scientists from Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute found that “a ‘Ragasa-type’ event” is 49% more likely to exist in the climate of 2025 compared to a pre-industrial baseline. Researchers also estimate that more than a third of the damage in South China was caused by a “Ragasa” type storm, which can be attributed to manmade climate change, with an even warmer climate of 2 degrees Celsius increasing damages by 27%.
Professor Ralf Toumi, the director of the Graham Institute, said that despite a recent decline in typhoons, stronger typhoons are becoming more frequent. “Typhoons are fuelled by the moisture from oceans, so that warmer oceans cause stronger typhoons,” said Toumi, “We expect warmer oceans to increase the proportion of the strongest typhoons.”
Moreover, Hong Kong and other Asian regions will be facing more tropical cyclones with increased strength. A study conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) predicts Asia will face typhoons that last longer with stronger intensity at landfall, with inland locations potentially facing more damage from future storms. Professor Tam Chi Yung Francis, who led the study, warned of the impacts of global warming on future typhoons in a CUHK press release. “Global warming will likely continue the increasing trend in landfalling typhoons and their impacts on inland regions, based on the high-resolution climate model projections,” said Tam. “More Asian inland regions may be exposed to further severe typhoon-related hazards in the future as a result of climate change.”
However, many Hong Kongers have a narrow perception of typhoons as they come and go. Before the storm, most of us are glued to the Observatory’s notifications only to get informed on whether we can skip work or school the next morning. After the typhoon signal is dropped, we go back to business as usual, leaving a few storm anecdotes in the back of our minds.
Due to a growing apathy among Hong Kongers towards the news and the numerous priorities that people have in their daily lives, we are less likely to pay attention to the nuances behind the headlines. As many Hong Kongers rightfully prioritize focusing on the typhoon as it nears the city, many have missed how the storm has already caused damage elsewhere, including 11 people dead in the Philippines and more than 14 killed by the storm’s impacts in Taiwan.
More broadly, the public remains inattentive to the wider climate crisis. News coverage of natural disasters from other countries is the only place where the impacts of global warming are noticed by the Hong Kong public, and many outlets are far hesitant to make connections between what is happening around the world with the consequences of man-made climate change. On the policy side, the government has been selective in choosing which environmental policies to pursue. In the latest policy address, although the government has focused on investing in green solutions, there has been no mention of broader mitigation strategies against the effects of climate change.
For the government, Toumi made several recommendations on mitigating the impact of typhoons. He said, “Early warning systems which combine better forecasts with action on the ground are essential. Infrastructure needs to take into account the expected increased typhoon intensity.”
As for broader climate strategies, the city’s leadership should take more bold and proactive policy measures to decrease the impacts of climate change. Greenpeace Hong Kong argued the government should establish a more concrete and science-based mitigation strategy, “To adapt to the increasingly severe and frequent extreme weather events, the Hong Kong government should first, holistically review the climate resilience and vulnerability of the city, then develop a long-term, comprehensive adaptation framework that considers the impacts and different scenarios under climate change, to enhance the adaptive capacity of the city and protect the livelihood of the public.”
If successful, such measures can boost Hong Kong’s international standing as an environmental pioneer and innovation hub for green technology.
For the media, different outlets should draw connections between natural disasters seen in the news with deeper environmental issues. Moreover, local media should actively highlight those working in environmental protection and advocacy in the city, a news angle that can inspire others to join their causes.
But most importantly, Hong Kong needs to have a more robust conversation about climate change and how it affects society, as the public must go further from pure awareness of environmental issues to actively participating in efforts to curb global warming. Activists and those concerned about the environment can organize more public events and activities to engage the public on the causes and impacts of climate change, while businesses should go further than making lofty promises of net zero and carbon offsets. Faranda said, “Public awareness and education are also key, so that people understand the increasing risks and know how to respond quickly when intense typhoons approach.”
If the city learns one thing from Ragasa, it is that the effects of climate change are becoming more prevalent and visible. The climate alarm is louder than ever, and if we fail to meet up to the moment, Super Storm Ragasa might not be an anomaly, but a depressing norm for the future.