On June 23, leaders of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said the tropical depression had recently formed in the northwestern Pacific and was moving along a path parallel to Super Typhoon Mekkhala. Forecasts indicate that it will not enter the East Sea.
According to the centre, Mekkhala intensified overnight to Category 16 on Vietnam's storm scale, reaching super typhoon status. At 4 am on June 23, the storm was packing Category 16 winds, with gusts exceeding Category 17 strength. It was located east of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
Meteorologists said the super typhoon had begun turning northwards, moving along waters east of the Philippines towards Okinawa and southern Japan.
According to weather authorities, statistical records show that Mekkhala is the strongest June typhoon in the northwestern Pacific in the past 22 years.
Over the next 12 to 24 hours, the super typhoon is forecast to move slowly north-northwest at around 5 kilometres per hour before gradually turning north towards waters south of Japan. Its intensity is expected to remain at Category 16, with gusts above Category 17.
The storm is then forecast to shift towards the north and later the northeast, heading for waters near Japan's Tosa Bay while gradually weakening.
Regarding this year's typhoon season, meteorologists said the influence of El Nino is likely to reduce the number of storms forming in the East Sea compared with the long-term average.
Forecasters expect between eight and 10 storms to develop in the East Sea this year, with three to five potentially affecting Vietnam's mainland. Most impacts are expected between July and September in Northern Vietnam and between October and November in Central Vietnam, although impacts on Southern Vietnam during the final months of the year cannot be ruled out.