Tropical storm Dujuan puts Taiwan, Japan and China on Alert

Tropical storm Dujuan, which has the potential of becoming a significant typhoon has put the region from Taiwan and eastern China to Japan on alert. As of now Dujuan is far from being a typhoon as it is struggling to strengthen into a typhoon due to strong wind shear. If the wind shear proves too much for Dujuan then it will weaken into a low pressure system. If this happens then the threat would diminish for Japan and its surrounding areas unless it redevelops again.

However, according to latest indications Dujuan would overcome strong wind shear and eventually strengthen to a typhoon. This is because the strength of the wind shear would reduce in the next 18-36 hours. This would make the conditions favourable for the intensification of the tropical storm into a typhoon. If Dujuan will strengthen then it is likely to become a typhoon by the weekend as it moves through the Philippine Sea.

Dujuan is expected to plough through parts of Ryukyu Islands including Okinawa in Japan on Sunday and Monday. By that time Dujuan could become a powerful typhoon with winds in excess of 160 kmph. With such a powerful typhoon the threat of damaging winds, rough seas, flooding rain, and inundating storm surge will be eminent across the region. After this the typhoon will take a northeasterly track towards Kyushu and mainland Japan and impact around Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Typhoons tend to drive away the monsoonal moisture away from the Bay of Bengal and there is a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal which will not develop further. This will result in reduced rainfall activity over Northeast India during the last leg of the Monsoon season.

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