Super Typhoon Champi has unexpectedly intensified into a typhoon of the highest category.
According to the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, Super Typhoon Champi was located approximately 800 kilometres east-southeast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines this morning. It was classified as a Category 5 storm, with gusts exceeding this category. According to the latest satellite analyses, Super Typhoon Champi has maximum wind speeds of around 210 km/h, and the air pressure at its centre has fallen to 900 hPa.
It has already surpassed Typhoon Sinlaku from April
With this intensity, Champi is equivalent to a Category 5 super typhoon according to the US National Weather Service’s classification system and is also the strongest typhoon of the year in the North-West Pacific region. As soon as a storm reaches wind speeds of over 119 km/h, it is officially classified as a typhoon.
The American Saffir-Simpson Scale (JTWC / US standard) classifies typhoons into 5 categories:
| Category 1 | 119–153 km/h | Minimal | Broken branches, minor damage to unsecured objects |
| Category 2 | 154–177 km/h | Moderate | Damaged roofs, uprooted trees |
| Category 3 | 178–208 km/h | Difficult | Collapse of lightweight structures, widespread power cuts |
| Category 4 | 209–251 km/h | Catastrophic | Severe damage to residential buildings, devastation along the coast |
| Category 5 | from 252 km/h | Devastating | Complete structural collapse of many buildings; areas rendered uninhabitable |
According to analyses of satellite imagery, the storm is currently active over the sea, where the very warm surface temperatures of around 29–30 degrees provide favourable conditions for it to maintain its strong intensity.
The eye of Super Typhoon Champi has a diameter of around 80 kilometres
Ships and yachts sailing in East Asian waters, in particular, face the risk of extreme conditions and heavy seas caused by the circulation of Super Typhoon Champi.
The outlook for the region is worrying: according to observations so far, it is likely that the storm will continue to maintain its intensity at level 5 during the day and, in particular, overnight, and that gusts could even exceed the highest level 5. According to meteorologists, it will move mainly in a west-north-westerly direction at a speed of around 20–25 km/h.
Champi is expected to gradually shift north-west over the coming days. There, the typhoon will encounter cooler surface waters in the Pacific and will consequently lose intensity. According to forecasts from international weather services in Japan, South Korea, China and the United States, it will not make landfall in Taiwan.
Tom Stender
Redakteur
