Bhubaneswar: A new study has found that climate change is significantly altering global rainfall patterns, which may lead to more intense typhoons and other tropical storms. This research follows the impact of Typhoon Gaemi, the most powerful storm of the year, which recently affected Taiwan, the Philippines, and China.

The study, led by Zhang Wenxia at the China Academy of Sciences, analyzed historical weather data and discovered that around 75% of the world's land area has seen increased "precipitation variability," meaning greater fluctuations between wet and dry conditions.

According to the study, rising temperatures are increasing the atmosphere's capacity to hold moisture. Steven Sherwood, a climate scientist at the University of New South Wales, told Reuters, "As global warming continues, this will likely increase, heightening the risk of both droughts and floods."

The research indicates that while tropical storms may become less frequent, they are expected to grow stronger.

Typhoon Gaemi is an example of this trend. It hit Taiwan as the strongest storm to reach the island in eight years, with wind speeds up to 227 kph (141 mph). The storm led to widespread closures of schools, businesses, and financial markets in the region. In China, hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated before the typhoon made landfall.

Although linking specific weather events to climate change is difficult, climate models consistently predict that global warming will make typhoons more powerful. Sachie Kanada, a researcher at Japan's Nagoya University, explained, "Warmer sea surface temperatures generally favor tropical cyclone development."

Recent climate reports from China and Taiwan support these findings. China's "blue paper" on climate change notes a significant decline in typhoon frequency in the Northwest Pacific and South China Sea since the 1990s but reports an increase in their intensity. Similarly, Taiwan's climate change report suggests fewer but more intense typhoons in the region.

As global temperatures continue to rise, the impact on tropical storms could be significant. Feng Xiangbo, a tropical cyclone research scientist at the University of Reading, states that for every 1 degree Celsius increase in temperature, the water vapor capacity in the lower atmosphere is expected to rise by 7%. This could result in a dramatic 40% increase in tropical cyclone rainfall in some areas for each degree of warming.