How Is Climate Change Affecting the Philippines?

Haiyan, Thelma, Ike, Fengshen, Washi, Durian, Bopha, Trix, Amy, Nina. These are the
10 deadliest typhoons of the Philippines between 1947 and 2014.

What’s alarming is that five of the 10 have occurred since 2006, affecting and displacing
thousands of citizens every time. Seven of these 10 deadly storms each resulted in
more than 1,000 casualties. But the deadliest storm on record in the Philippines is
Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, which was responsible for more
than 6,300 lost lives, more than four million displaced citizens and $2 billion in damages
in 2013. So what’s going on—is the Philippines simply unlucky? Not exactly.

The Philippines has long been particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. Photo credit:
The Climate Reality Project

The Philippines has long been particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. But in recent
years the nation has suffered from even more violent storms like Typhoon Haiyan. On
average, about 20 tropical cyclones enter Philippine waters each year, with eight or nine
making landfall. And over the past decade, these tropical storms have struck the nation
more often and more severely, scientists believe, because of climate change. In
addition, two factors unique to the Philippines—its geography and development—have
combined to exacerbate both this threat and its devastating consequences.

As Climate Reality heads to Manila, Philippines on March 14-16 for our next Climate
Reality Leadership Corps training, we wanted to take a deeper look at how climate
change affects the Philippines and the role geography and development play in making
a tremendous challenge even greater.

Geography

The Global Climate Risk Index 2015 listed the Philippines as the number one most
affected country by climate change, using 2013’s data. This is thanks, in part, to its
geography. The Philippines is located in the western Pacific Ocean, surrounded by
naturally warm waters that will likely get even warmer as average sea-surface
temperatures continue to rise.

To some extent, this is a normal pattern: the ocean surface warms as it absorbs
sunlight. The ocean then releases some of its heat into the atmosphere, creating wind
and rain clouds. However, as the ocean’s surface temperature increases over time from
 the effects of climate change, more and more heat is released into the atmosphere. This
additional heat in the ocean and air can lead to stronger and more frequent storms—
which is exactly what we’ve seen in the Philippines over the last decade.

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The Philippines also lacks natural barriers; as a collection of more than 7,000 islands
there is almost nothing standing between them and the sea. In addition to their coral
reefs, one of the best buffers against typhoons are the Philippine mangrove
ecosystems. These mangroves help mitigate the impact of storm surge and stabilize soil
but have disappeared by almost half since 1918 due to deforestation (an issue for
another day).Other natural factors, like regional wind patterns or currents, can also
increase the risk of tropical storms. Geography again plays a role here, as these factors
affect different areas of the country differently, due to their unique circumstances. The
graphic below from a report by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural
Resources shows how the various regions in the Philippines can face a range of climate
threats, based on where they sit on the map.