Global warming doubles number of hurricanes
- From: ** <**@.org>
- Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:38:47 +0800
Global warming doubles number of hurricanes
WASHINGTON
31-Jul-07
GLOBAL warming's effect on wind patterns and sea temperatures have more than
doubled the annual number of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean over the past
century, says a new study by US scientists.
Excerpts from the study by Greg Holland of the National Centre for Atmospheric
Research and Peter Webster of Georgia Institute of Technology were released in
the United States late last Sunday.
The analysis identifies three periods since 1900, during which the average
number of hurricanes and tropical storms surged dramatically and then remained
elevated and relatively steady.
The first period, between 1900 and 1930, saw an average of six Atlantic tropical
cyclones, of which four were hurricanes and two were tropical storms.
From 1930 to 1940, the annual average increased to 10, consisting of fivehurricanes and five tropical storms.
In the most recent period, from 1995 to 2005, the average reached 15, of which
eight were hurricanes and seven were tropical storms.
This latter period, Holland and Webster caution, has not yet stabilised, which
means the average hurricane season may be more active in the future.
"These numbers are a strong indication that climate change is a major factor in
the increasing number of Atlantic hurricanes," Holland said in a statement.
The scientists see a strong correlation between the spike in storm activity and
rising sea surface temperatures, which "feed" hurricanes.
Over the last 100 years, these temperatures have risen by about 1.3 degrees
Fahrenheit, or 0.7 degrees Celsius, the study asserts.
The temperatures rose approximately 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0.4 degrees
Celsius, in a period leading up to 1930, which was marked by some of the
deadliest storms to hit the Atlantic Coast of the United States.
The so-called Galveston hurricane of 1900 that went down in history as the worst
ever to hit the United States, took an estimated 8,000 lives.
The second-worst storm that ravaged southeastern Florida and killed about 2,500
local residents occurred in 1928, according to data compiled by the National
Hurricane Centre.
Another hurricane that hit the Miami area in 1926 caused 372 deaths, a 1919
storm in the Florida Keys was responsible for 287 fatalities, and an unnamed
category four hurricane that befell New Orleans in 1915 took 275 lives.
A similar water temperature rise, according to the study, was recorded leading
up to 1995.
The second-costliest US Atlantic hurricane, Andrew, hit Florida and Louisiana
1992, causing US26.5 billion in damage.
Katrina, the costliest and third-deadliest US Atlantic storm, which killed about
1,500 people and caused US$81 billion in damage, ravaged the states of Louisiana
and Mississippi in 2005.
The 2006 hurricane season, the study notes, was far less active than the two
preceding years, in part because of the emergence of an El Nino weather
phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean. The full report is expected to be published
Monday by the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. AFP
.
- Prev by Date: Asean must put house in order first
- Next by Date: Red faces over M'sian minister's decision
- Previous by thread: Asean must put house in order first
- Next by thread: Red faces over M'sian minister's decision
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
|
