The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator between 100°E and the International Date Line.

During the season, 34 systems were designated as tropical depressions by either the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), or other National Meteorological and Hydrological Services such as the China Meteorological Administration and the Hong Kong Observatory.

For the PAGASA, 17 systems formed or entered in area of responsibility during 2012, which 7 of them directly made landfall over the Philippines.

From late August to September, three very powerful typhoons, Bolaven, Sanba and Jelawat, directly hit Okinawa Island successively.

In October, the remnants of Severe Tropical Storm Gaemi arrived at the Bay of Bengal and re-intensified into a deep depression before making landfall over Bangladesh.