SUMMARY:
For he first time since data were first collected in1951, the Pacific Ocean had no typhoons (hurricanes) in the month of July. 3 to 4 typhoons form in the Pacific in a typical July. Up to 8 have formed in the past (2017 and 1971).
Typhoons have seen downward trend since 1951 as atmospheric CO2 levels increased. Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
Global warming alarmists like to claim that tropical storms will become more frequent unless people stop using fossil fuels. Global warming alarmists are liars. They steer our attention to the Atlantic Ocean where the number of tropical storms this year, so far, have been above average.
DETAILS:
The Pacific is divided into four quadrants (NE, NW, SW, SE) based on the Equator and the International Date Line. A tropical cyclone that has sustained winds of 65 knots or greater is called a “hurricane” in the NE PAC (same as in the Atlantic Ocean) and a “typhoon” in the NW PAC. If a NE PAC hurricane happens to cross the dateline heading west, it keeps the given name, but is then called a typhoon.
In the SW PAC, any tropical storm with sustained winds of 35 knots or greater is called a “tropical cyclone.” The same convention applies in the SE PAC but it’s extremely rare for tropical storms to form (or even exist) there.
The NW PAC so quiet (“no typhoons or even tropical storms”) is extremely rare, because the NW PAC is the most fertile ground in the world for tropical systems, and has the longest season (year-round). The Atlantic hurricane season shuts down in the winter, there’s always activity in the Pacific.