The 58th Annual Session of ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee successfully
concluded its fifty-eighth (58th) Annual Session which was held in Jeju Island,
Republic of Korea, from March 10 to 13, 2026.
During the four-day session, the Committee reviewed the key
activities of the past year and the annual reports from the Working Group on
Meteorology (WGM), the Working Group on Hydrology (WGH), the Working Group on
Disaster Risk Reduction (WGDRR), and the Training and Research Coordination
Group (TRCG), demonstrating the achievements of cross-sectoral collaboration in
addressing typhoon threats. Additionally, the meeting reviewed the activities
of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) Tokyo and discussed
amendments to the Typhoon Committee Operational Manual (TOM).
The session also featured technical presentations, focusing on
integrating data-driven machine learning with physics models for typhoon
prediction, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) techniques in flood
forecasting, and strengthening the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative
in member states such as Lao PDR. The session also hosted the Dr. Kintanar
Award Ceremony and the TC Young Scientist Award Ceremony, recognizing
individuals who have made outstanding contributions to meteorology, hydrology,
and disaster mitigation.
To ensure clarity in public communications and out of respect for
the severe disasters caused by typhoons, the Committee also approved nine new names
to replace those retired in 2025. The newly adopted names are as
follows:
- KOKI (replacing KONG-REY)
- GAEGURI (replacing TORAJI)
- DIM-SUM (replacing MAN-YI)
- HEBI (replacing USAGI)
- TOMO (replacing YAGI)
- TIROU (replacing EWINIAR)
- NARAE (replacing JEBI)
- BURAPHA (replacing KRATHON)
- HOABAN (replacing TRAMI)
Furthermore, due to the significant damage and casualties caused by
typhoons in 2025, the Committee approved the retirement of eight typhoon names.
They are: WIPHA, CO-MAY, MATMO, MITAG, RAGASA, BUALOI, KALMAEGI, and FUNG-WONG.