New Study Reveals 7,000 Years of Tropical Cyclone Activity in the Western Pacific

In a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment in June 2026, Prof Kam-biu Liu and his collaborators reconstructed more than 7,000 years of tropical cyclone activity in the western Pacific by analysing large corals blocks in Sanya, Hainan, China that were transported from reef slopes onto reef flats by powerful typhoon waves, together with paleoclimate records from across the region. Their study revealed that tropical cyclone activity in the western Pacific has exhibited a strikingly symmetrical pattern between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres since the mid-Holocene, while its activity centres and impacts shifted between low-latitude and mid-to-high-latitude regions in a see-saw pattern over the long term. These findings provide new insights into the climate processes driving long-term tropical cyclone variability and offer an important basis for assessing future tropical cyclone risks in a warming world.

Link to full article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03734-2

Feature on Scienmag online magazine: https://scienmag.com/symmetrical-tropical-cyclone-activity-in-western-pacific/

Elite PhD Admission Summer Camp 2026

GRM is hosting the Elite PhD Admission Summer Camp 2026 from 11–14 August 2026. We warmly invite outstanding Master’s students and recent Master’s graduates worldwide to experience what a future in a leading international research community in geography could look like. Please click here for more details and to register.

GRM Professor Receives 2026 AAG Lifetime Achievement Honours

Professor Nina Lam has been awarded the 2026 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Lifetime Achievement Award. This prestigious accolade recognises Professor Lam’s innovative research, which has profoundly benefited society. The Resilience Inference Measurement (RIM) model she has developed facilitates more accurate assessments of a community’s capacity to withstand and recover from disasters, significantly improving disaster prevention and emergency response strategies worldwide. For more information, please visit here.

GRM-developed Satellite Launched to Advance Smart City Development

On 12 Feb 2026, CUHK Sat-1 – the world’s first satellite incorporating a large AI model – was launched. Developed by a team led by GRM’s Prof Mei-Po Kwan and Prof Peifeng Ma, the satellite is set to provide high-precision geospatial data services for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and major cities worldwide. Its applications span environmental monitoring, intelligent transport systems and emergency response. For more information, please visit here.

CUHK-BNU Geography Symposium: A New Partnership

On 28-29 Apr 2025, GRM welcomed delegates from Beijing Normal University’s Faculty of Geographical Science (BNU-FGS), led by vice-dean Prof Fenghua Pan, for the first geography symposium jointly organised by the two units. Members from GRM and BNU-FGS had wide-ranging discussions on their research in health, transport, financial and education geographies. The symposium marks the beginning of long-term collaboration between the two units in research, teaching and student exchange.

Call for Abstracts: 13th International Conference on Sustainable Tourism

GRM’s International Conference on Sustainable Tourism is set to return for its 13th edition on 8-10 May 2025. This year, five esteemed international keynote speakers will join participants to delve into the crucial intersection of tourism and sustainable transformation. Abstract submissions are open until 11 Apr 2025. For more details, please visit the Conference Website.

GRM Distinguished Lecture: “Nobel of Geography” Winner on Regional Innovation

GRM is honoured to welcome Professor Ron Boschma, an internationally renowned economic geographer, to give a lecture on 1 Apr 2025 on the topic “Regional Innovation and Smart Specialization Policy in the European Union”. Professor Boschma is the 2024 winner of the Vautrin Lud Prize, also widely known as the “Nobel of Geography”, and has made a significant impact on the EU’s regional innovation policy. Please click here for details of this lecture, and sign up here to guarantee your seat.

GRM Reception at 2025 AAG Annual Meeting

GRM invites everyone who will visit Detroit for the 2025 AAG Annual Meeting for a reception! Join us from 6 pm to 9 pm on Tue 25 Mar 2025 at The Whisky Parlor, 608 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48226. For enquiries, please contact Asst Prof Scarlett Jin.

GRM Hosted Hong Kong Geography Day 2024

GRM hosted the biennial Hong Kong Geography Day on 23 Nov 2024 under the theme “Sustainability Plus: The Greater Bay Area and Beyond”. Over 800 participants across the Greater Bay Area met at CUHK to explored critical sustainability challenges and opportunities in the region. The event featured keynote speeches by Prof. Bao Jigang from Sun Yat-sen University and Prof. Kwan Mei-po from GRM, multiple research seminars, postgraduate student paper and poster competition, and a secondary school talk by experienced geography educators. Please click here for the day’s highlights.