The fourth tropical depression and the first named storm of the annual typhoon season, Pakhar's origins can be traced from a disturbance that persisted to the northwest of Palau.

[1] Located in an unfavorable environment, with moderate vertical wind shear and cold sea surface temperatures, the disturbance didn't develop significantly and it passed on Visayas and Palawan between March 22 and 23.

[3] On March 26, the JMA reupgraded the system to a tropical depression due to its good structure and redeveloping convection around its low-level circulation.

[4] However, the system was downgraded to a severe tropical storm on March 31 due to land interaction and cooler sea surface temperatures.

[5] The JMA and JTWC reported that Pakhar weakened to a tropical depression for the final time inland, and was last noted over Cambodia on that day.

[4] Pakhar did not make landfall in the Philippines as a tropical cyclone, but its predecessor brought heavy rains to parts of the region.