{"id":235693,"date":"2025-12-16T12:24:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T12:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/235693\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T12:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T12:24:24","slug":"study-finds-climate-change-worsened-asia-cyclones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/235693\/","title":{"rendered":"Study finds climate change worsened Asia cyclones"},"content":{"rendered":"

BENGALURU, India (AP) \u2014 Ocean temperatures warmed by human-caused climate change<\/a> fed the intense rainfall that triggered deadly floods and landslides across Asia in recent weeks, according to an analysis released Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The rapid study by World Weather Attribution focused on heavy rainfall from cyclones Senyar and Ditwah in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka starting late last month. The analysis found that warmer sea surface temperatures over the North Indian Ocean added energy to the cyclones.<\/p>\n

Floods and landslides triggered by the storms have killed more than 1,600 people,<\/a> with hundreds more still missing. The cyclones are the latest in a series of deadly weather disasters affecting Southeast Asia this year, resulting in loss of life and property damage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt rains a lot here but never like this. Usually, rain stops around September but this year it has been really bad. Every region of Sri Lanka has been affected, and our region has been the worst impacted,\u201d said Shanmugavadivu Arunachalam, a 59-year-old schoolteacher in the mountain town of Hatton in Sri Lanka\u2019s Central Province.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A landslide survivor searches for belongings at the site in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah in Sarasavigama village in Kandy, Sri Lanka, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Eranga Jayawardena, File)<\/p>\n

A landslide survivor searches for belongings at the site in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah in Sarasavigama village in Kandy, Sri Lanka, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Eranga Jayawardena, File)<\/p>\n

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Warmer sea surface temperatures<\/p>\n

Sea surface temperatures over the North Indian Ocean were 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.3 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the average over the past three decades, according to the WWA researchers. <\/p>\n

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Without global warming, the sea surface temperatures would have been about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than they were, according to the analysis. The warmer ocean temperatures provided heat and moisture to the storms.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This photo taken from a national disaster mitigation agency\u2019s helicopter during an aerial aid distribution shows an area affected by floods in the aftermath of Cyclone Senyar in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo\/Reza Saifullah, File)<\/p>\n

This photo taken from a national disaster mitigation agency\u2019s helicopter during an aerial aid distribution shows an area affected by floods in the aftermath of Cyclone Senyar in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo\/Reza Saifullah, File)<\/p>\n

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When measuring overall temperatures, the world is currently 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than global average during pre-industrial times in the 19th century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the atmosphere warms, it can hold more moisture. As a result, it rains more in a warmer atmosphere as compared to a world without climate change,\u201d said Mariam Zachariah, with the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London and one of the report\u2019s authors.<\/p>\n

Using tested methods to measure climate impacts quickly<\/p>\n

The WWA is a collection of researchers who use peer-reviewed methods to conduct rapid studies examining how extreme weather events are linked to climate change. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime we decide to do a study, we know what is the procedure that we have to follow,\u201d said Zachariah, who added that they review the findings in house and send some of their analysis for peer review, even after an early version is made public.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Survivors<\/p>\n

Survivors walk past the wreckage of a car at an area affected by flash flooding in the aftermath of Cyclone Senyar in Aceh Tamiang, on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo\/Binsar Bakkara, File)<\/p>\n

Survivors walk past the wreckage of a car at an area affected by flash flooding in the aftermath of Cyclone Senyar in Aceh Tamiang, on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo\/Binsar Bakkara, File)<\/p>\n

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The speed at which the WWA releases their analysis helps inform the general public about the impacts of climate change, according to Zachariah.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people everywhere to know about why something happened in their neighborhood,\u201d Zachariah said. \u201cBut also be aware about the reasons behind some of the events unfurling across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The WWA often estimates how much worse climate change made a disaster using specific probabilities. In this case, though, the researchers said they could not estimate the precise contribution of climate change to the storms and ensuing heavy rains because of limitations in climate models for the affected islands.<\/p>\n

Climate change boosts Asia\u2019s unusually heavy rainfall<\/p>\n

Global warming is a \u201cpowerful amplifier\u201d to the deadly floods, typhoons and landslides that have ravaged Asia this year, said Jemilah Mahmood, with the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, a Malaysia-based think tank that was not involved with the WWA analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe region and the world have been on this path because, for decades, economic development was prioritized over climate stability,\u201d Mahmood said. \u201cIt\u2019s created an accumulated planetary debt, and this has resulted in the crisis we face.\u201d<\/p>\n

The analysis found that across the affected countries, rapid urbanization, high population density and infrastructure in low lying flood plains have elevated exposure to flood events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe human toll from cyclones Ditwah and Senyar is staggering,\u201d said Maja Vahlberg, a technical adviser with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. \u201cUnfortunately, it is the most vulnerable people who experience the worst impacts and have the longest road to recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123<\/a>.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Delgado reported from Bangkok, Thailand.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n