From Typhoon Dim-sum to frogs and snakes: Asia’s cyclones feature unusual names

Typhoon 'Dim-sum': how Hong Kong put a tasty snack on the storm map Inspired by the mouth-watering snack, 'Dim-sum' has been added to the official list of names for future tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea.However, it was not Hong Kong’s most popular choice. More than 20,000 people took part in the 2023 exercise that helped the Hong Kong Observatory build a reserve pool of locally representative cyclone names. “Milktea” emerged as the favourite, with “Dim-sum” finishing fourth.The Guardian reported that Hong Kong supplied “Dim-sum” as one of nine additions made to the cyclone naming list in 2026. The additions form part of an official Asia-Pacific naming system in which names are generally reused unless particularly destructive storms lead to their retirement.Why storm names are replacedThe Typhoon Committee is an intergovernmental body established under the joint auspices of the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It maintains a list of 140 names for tropical cyclones in the region. A tropical cyclone may also be described as a hurricane or a typhoon depending on where it occurs....