making the usually dry season drier and increasing the risk of drought. 159 Some areas are also projected to experience an increase in rainfall during the southwest monsoon season and the transition from the southwest to northeast monsoon season, increasing the risk of flooding and landslides in these areas. 160 Throughout the country, there are projected increases in both heavy rainfall days (days with rainfall exceeding 300 mm) and dry days (less than 2.5 mm rainfall). 161 The intensity of these extreme weather events is also projected to increase, resulting in an increased risk of both floods and droughts.162 Tropical Storms: Tropical storms pose a significant threat to the Philippines due to its exposed location, large number of islands, extensive coastline, and large coastal population. Climate warming increases the intensity of heavy rains and typhoons, as well as their size and duration. Five of the ten deadliest typhoons to hit the country since 1947 occurred in the past decade, killing tens of thousands of people and causing extensive economic and physical damages.163 The most devastating was Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which was the strongest tropical cyclone in recorded history; it claimed more than 7,000 lives and displaced more than four million people.164 Scientists have determined that a combination of climate change-related factors (warmer ocean temperatures and sea level rise) contributed to the increased intensity and damage of the storm. 165 The Philippines will likely experience even more severe tropical cyclones as temperatures increase, 166 the damages of which will be exacerbated by sea level rise and heavy rains and flooding. Impaired Ecosystems: Ecosystems in the Philippines are already being impacted by climate change. For example, it is apparent that ocean warming and acidification have contributed to the degradation of coral reefs near the Philippines coastline and the fisheries they support.167 Prolonged dry periods in Philippine forest ecosystems may threaten the livelihoods and health of forest-dependent communities. 168 159 PAGASA, supra note 78, at 25. Id. at 25, 27; see also ARIEF ANSHORY YUSUF & HERMINIA FRANCISCO, HOTSPOTS! MAPPING CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA (2010) (finding that the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to floods and landslides). 161 PAGASA, supra note 78, at 27. 162 Juan M. Pulhin et al, Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: Initiatives and Challenges in the Philippines, in CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION: AN ASIAN PERSPECTIVE (Rajib Shaw et al. eds., 2010). 163 How is Climate Change Affecting the Philippines?, THE CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT (Jan. 19, 2016, 10:02 AM), https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-change-affecting-philippines. 164 SHERWOOD ET AL., supra note 104, at 1. 165 Kevin Trenberth et al., Attribution of Climate Extreme Events, 5 NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE 725 (2015); see also Science Section III: Attribution of Impacts to Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases (Trenberth, Plan B, ClientEarth) infra; Amicus Curiae Brief submitted by Kevin E. Trenberth, 4, https://businesshumanrights.org/sites/default/files/documents/Kevin%20E%20Trenberth.pdf [hereinafter Trenberth brief]. 166 Nobuhito Mori & Tetsuya Takemi, Impact Assessment of Coastal Hazards Due to Future Changes of Tropical Cyclones in the North Pacific Ocean, 11 WEATHER & CLIMATE EXTREMES 53 (2016). 167 GETTING A GRIP ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES, supra note 81, at 12-13. 168 PAGASA, supra note 78, at 49. 160 36