Super Typhoon Dolphin strengthens over the Pacific

Super Typhoon Dolphin strengthened on Friday over the northwestern Pacific, though the powerful storm should pose no threat to China over the next five days, forecasters said.

The path of Dolphin beyond next week remains highly uncertain and could eventually bring it toward Japan, the Korean Peninsula or eastern China.

Dolphin, the year's 13th named typhoon, was located about 2,930 kilometers southeast of Tokyo, over the northwestern Pacific, at 8 am Friday.

The storm briefly weakened early Friday before regaining strength. The maximum sustained winds near its center increased to 60 meters per second by 8 am, restoring the storm to super typhoon status.

According to Weather China, a weather information platform operated by the China Meteorological Administration, Dolphin could become the strongest typhoon in the northwestern Pacific this year if it continues to intensify.

Forecasters expect the storm to move northwestward at about 20 kilometers per hour while gradually strengthening.

Xin Xin, chief meteorological analyst with Weather China, said forecast models continue to diverge after the five-day period, with possible landfalls ranging from Japan and South Korea to eastern China.

Some artificial intelligence-based forecast models project the typhoon making landfall near Hangzhou Bay in eastern China's Zhejiang province before turning north and interacting with a southward-moving cold trough, which could produce exceptionally heavy rainfall across eastern China.

While the typhoon remains far from China, eastern parts of the country continue to grapple with intense summer heat.

The eastern city of Ningbo in Zhejiang maintained a high-temperature advisory on Friday, with daytime highs of 37 to 39 C expected across most areas.

Most areas in Ningbo had issued orange heat alerts by Friday morning. Forecasters said hot and mostly sunny conditions would persist through Saturday, with isolated afternoon showers or thunderstorms possible.