Overview of Tropical Cyclone in July 2023

Three tropical cyclones occurred over the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in July 2023. Among them, Talim was the first tropical cyclone affecting Hong Kong in 2023. The Observatory issued the first No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal in 2023 during the passage of Talim.

Talim formed as a tropical depression over the central part of the South China Sea about 490 km southeast of Dongsha on the morning of 14 July. It moved westwards at first and intensified gradually. Talim intensified into a tropical storm and entered the northern part of the South China Sea the next day. Talim turned to move west-northwestwards that night and continued to edge towards the coast of western Guangdong. Talim intensified further into a typhoon on the night of 16 July and attained its peak intensity with an estimated maximum sustained wind of 140 km/h near its centre on the morning of 17 July. Talim made landfall near Zhanjiang, Guangdong that night, and moved across Leizhou Peninsula and Beibu Wan the next morning. It moved into inland Guangxi on 18 July and degenerated into an area of low pressure over the northern part of Vietnam the next morning.

According to press reports, one person was injured when Talim affected Macao. There were also 30 incident reports, including fallen trees and scaffoldings. Besides, Talim also brought torrential rain and squalls to many places in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. For detailed information of Talim including its impact to Hong Kong, please refer to the Tropical Cyclone Report of Talim.

Doksuri formed as a tropical depression over the western North Pacific about 1 270 km east of Manila on the night of 20 July. It moved north-northwestwards and intensified gradually. Doksuri intensified into a typhoon on the night of 23 July and tracked northwestwards. It developed further into a super typhoon next night and attained its peak intensity with an estimated maximum sustained wind of 210 km/h near its centre on the morning of 25 July. Doksuri moved across Luzon Strait that night and the next morning, and turned to move north-northwestwards. During its passage across the northeastern part of the South China Sea, Doksuri once weakened into a severe typhoon on the night of 26 July but re-intensified into a super typhoon next night. Doksuri made landfall near Jinjiang of Fujian province on the morning on 28 July. It moved into inland and weakened further that day. It finally degenerated into an area of low pressure over Anhui the next morning.

According to press reports, Doksuri left at least 25 deaths and 52 injuries in the Philippines during its passage. Over 2.45 million people were affected, over 41 000 houses were damaged and economic loss exceeded PHP 5.4 billion. In Fujian province, more than 2.66 million people were affected and economic loss exceeded RMB 14.7 billion. Besides, affected by the remnant of Doksuri, torrential rain wreaked havoc in many provinces and cities in East China, North China and Northeast China during 29 July – 1 August. In Beijing, some areas recorded maximum cumulative rainfall of more than 1 000 millimeters, causing 33 deaths, 18 missing and 1.29 million people affected. For detailed information of Doksuri including its impact to Hong Kong, please refer to the Tropical Cyclone Report of Doksuri.

Khanun formed as a tropical depression over the western North Pacific about 2 170 km southeast of Okinawa in the small hours on 27 July. It moved northwestwards or north-northwestwards towards the vicinity of the Ryukyu Islands and intensified gradually in the following four days. Khanun intensified into a super typhoon on the night of 31 July.