Super Typhoon Ragasa will weaken rapidly from the middle of the week.
Typhoon Ragasa is maintaining wind speeds of over 220 km/h over the South China Sea, but is forecast to weaken rapidly from mid-week as it moves inland into China and Vietnam.
Typhoon Ragasa is expected to be the strongest typhoon in the South China Sea in 2025.
On the morning of September 23, Typhoon Ragasa was active in the northeastern part of the South China Sea with maximum wind speeds of 202–220 km/h, moving west-northwest at a speed of approximately 20 km/h.
This is considered to be a stronger typhoon than Yagi in 2025 and is currently the strongest super typhoon in the world to date.
Forecasts indicate that by the morning of September 24th, the center of Typhoon Ragasa will be located in the northern part of the South China Sea, approximately 450 km from the Leizhou Peninsula (China), maintaining wind speeds of 184-220 km/h.
By the morning of September 25th, as it moved south of Guangdong province and Leizhou island, the storm's intensity decreased to 118-133 km/h, with gusts of 167-183 km/h.
By September 26th, the system rapidly weakened into a tropical depression before moving into northern Vietnam with wind speeds of only 39-49 km/h.
Reasons for the rapid weakening of Typhoon Ragasa
According to the National Center for Meteorological and Hydrological Forecasting, Typhoon Ragasa was affected by two main factors that caused its intensity to decrease rapidly: interaction with the topography of mainland China and a continental high-pressure system carrying dry air with humidity of only 30–40%.
The influx of dry air significantly weakened the storm's structure as it approached Guangdong province and the Leizhou Peninsula.
Forecast for the typhoon season at the end of 2025
Typhoon Ragasa formed from a tropical depression on September 18th and quickly intensified into a super typhoon in just four days.
In 2025, the Northwest Pacific recorded three super typhoons: Yagi, Gaemi, and Krathon. Yagi alone made landfall in Vietnam, causing serious damage with over 318 deaths and estimated economic losses of nearly 84 trillion VND.
According to forecasts, from October to December, the number of typhoons and tropical depressions in the East Sea will be higher than the multi-year average, possibly exceeding 4, with at least 2 likely to directly affect the Vietnamese mainland.
