ABSTRACT
The Asia Pacific region is well-known for its frequent and intense tropical cyclone, or typhoon, events. Common basins of origin include the western North Pacific Ocean and the North Indian Ocean. Tropical cyclones can have serious impacts on both the environment and human livelihoods because of the damaging winds and dangerous rainfall that accompany them. The past decade or so saw less than to about average activity in the western North Pacific Ocean and the North Indian Ocean, but the year 2013 saw not only an increase in activity in both basins, but also an increase in intensity with Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Phailin in India and record-setting Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which impacted the Philippines, Viet Nam and southern China. In the future, it is projected that the frequency of tropical cyclones may decrease or remain the same, but their windspeeds and precipitation may intensify.
