Filipino super-typhoon an ominous warning of climate change impact

Simon Tisdall in the Guardian (UK): ...[Super Typhoon] Bopha, known locally as Pablo, broke records as well as hearts. At its height, it produced winds speeds of 160mph, gusting to 195mph. It was the world's deadliest typhoon in 2012, killing 1,067 people with 800 left missing. More than 6.2 million people were affected; the cost of the damage may top $1bn.

As a category 5 storm (the highest), Bopha was significantly more powerful than hurricane Katrina (category 3), which hit the US in 2005, and last year's heavily publicised hurricane Sandy (category 2). With an estimated 216,000 houses destroyed or damaged, tens of thousands of people remain displaced, presenting a challenge for government responders and aid agencies. The lack of international media coverage of Bopha may in part be explained – though not excused – by western-centric news values, and in part by the high incidence of storms in the Pacific region.

The Philippines experiences an average of 20 typhoons a year (including three super-typhoons) plus numerous incidents of flooding, drought, earthquakes and tremors and occasional volcanic eruptions, making it one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world.

But more disturbing than Bopha's size was the fact that it appeared to reflect rapidly deteriorating climatic trends.

The five most devastating typhoons recorded in the Philippines have occurred since 1990, affecting 23 million people. Four of the costliest typhoons anywhere occurred in same period, according to an Oxfam report. What is more, Bopha hit an area where typhoons are all but unknown....

Typhoon Bopha on December 2, 2012, via NASA