Within 50 days, three typhoons consecutively made landfall at Yuhuan, Zhejiang Province. On the morning of August 28 at 8:05, the center of this year's 18th typhoon, Sardel (typhoon level), made landfall along the coast of Kanmen Street, Yuhuan City, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, with maximum near-center wind force of level 12 (35 meters per second) and a minimum central pressure of 975 hectopascals.
Previously, on July 11, this year's 9th typhoon Bawi (typhoon level) made landfall in Yuhuan City, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, and then made landfall again along the coast of Yueqing City, Wenzhou City. On August 9, this year's 13th typhoon Baihaitun (severe typhoon level) also made landfall along the Yuhuan and Yueqing coasts in succession. Multiple typhoons making landfall or directly hitting Zhejiang in a short time has drawn public attention: Why are typhoons so 'fond of' Yuhuan, Zhejiang this year?
Experts at the Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Bureau analyzed that this is closely related to the current El Niño development. Abnormally warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific have significantly influenced typhoon positions and intensity. During an El Niño developing year, the Western Pacific Subtropical High is abnormally strong and positioned northward, easily guiding typhoons along northwest tracks directly toward the East China coast. At the same time, multiple typhoons this year avoided the terrain blocking effect of Taiwan Island during their passage, allowing them to maintain high intensity when landing in Zhejiang.
The Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Bureau analyzed that during the flood season of an El Niño developing year, typhoons affecting Zhejiang typically have three characteristics: First, their formation positions are more eastward. Typhoon formation regions expand from the western Pacific to the central Pacific, and may even form near the dateline, creating 'ocean-crossing typhoons.' This year, two typhoons causing serious impacts on Zhejiang — Bawi and Baihaitun — formed at 160.1°E and 176.9°E respectively. Among them, Baihaitun is the easternmost-forming landfall typhoon in meteorological records, with its movement path exceeding 7,000 kilometers, spanning 62 degrees of longitude, and a complete life cycle of 16 days — over three times a normal typhoon's life cycle.
Second, typhoon intensity tends to be stronger. Typhoons fully absorb water vapor and energy during their long-distance travel, their circulations continuously expanding, growing into mega typhoons that bring wide-ranging wind and rain impacts. Bawi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Zhejiang Province in July since 1949, with maximum wind speed breaking July landfall typhoon records; provincial average rainfall reached 97.3 millimeters, ranking first among July landfall typhoons. During Baihaitun's influence, provincial average rainfall reached 235.7 millimeters, ranking first among typhoons making landfall in Zhejiang; daily precipitation extreme reached 616.6 millimeters (Jiantou Village, Jianpiao Town, Sanmen County), setting a Zhejiang provincial record for daily rainfall from a landfall typhoon.
Third, multiple typhoons coexist. Due to sufficient equatorial Pacific thermal conditions, more typhoons form, often creating a 'multi-typhoon coexistence' situation. In September 2015, during Typhoon Chan-Hom's activity, two other typhoons — Linfa and Nangka — coexisted in the Northwest Pacific, with three typhoons coexisting for 6 days. On August 26 this year, in the Northwest Pacific, Typhoons Sardel, Zitan, Janlaver, and the remnant circulation of Typhoon AixaNi coexisted, with multiple tropical systems interacting, making Sardel's path more complex.
Currently, El Niño is rapidly developing, with the central and eastern equatorial Pacific having entered an El Niño state in May, and the Nino3.4 index rising rapidly, reaching 2.09°C in July, up 0.49°C from June, and reaching 2.66°C by August, with a clear rapid warming trend. The latest forecast from the National Climate Center predicts that sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific will peak around November to December this year, forming a super El Niño event and potentially becoming the strongest on record.
The Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Bureau compared this year's climate background with similar historical years, finding that this year's climate has certain similarities to 2004 — also an El Niño developing year with an above-normal number of landfall typhoons. In 2004, three typhoons — Pongsona, Yunnae, and Haima — made landfall in Zhejiang Province one after another, the most on record. Based on the latest meteorological monitoring analysis: this year could become the most extreme year on record for Zhejiang in terms of the number of landfall typhoons, with high intensity, concentrated landfall periods, and prominent impact risks — requiring sustained defensive preparedness.
