Global warming continues to damage our environment, gradually. The latest study claims that climate change has also led to a change in the nature of hurricanes and typhoons. It is believed that over the years they have become more aggressive and potentially more dangerous leading to more damage than before.

A study by the researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reveals how hurricanes have changed over time as a result of global warming using the data gathered through satellites for more than four decades. The paper has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The findings reveal an upward trend in the growing intensity of storms between the years 1979 and 2017. It was found out as the temperature rises, so did the possibility of storm change into a "major hurricane." The findings are supported by the data suggesting that the planet has warmed up year after year.

"The change is about 8% per decade," Jim Kossin, author of the study, told CNN. "In other words, during its lifetime, a hurricane is 8% more likely to be a major hurricane in this decade compared to the last decade," he added.

As the scientists continue to send warnings and call for immediate steps to tackle climate change, the sharper and powerful storms are considered to be the result of rising ocean temperature due to man-made global warming and not natural reasons. This study reveals links between rising ocean temperatures, changing tropical storms into more devastating and destructive hurricanes. In addition to the warm temperatures, changes in atmospheric conditions lead to an increase in the intensity of the storm.

Satellite image of Hurricane Dorian
This satellite image obtained from NOAA/RAMMB shows Tropical Storm Dorian as it approaches the Bahamas at 13:40 UTC on September 1, 2019 NOAA/RAMMB / HO

"Our results show that these storms have become stronger on global and regional levels, which is consistent with expectations of how hurricanes respond to a warming world," Kossin said in a news statement as published on Eurekalert. "It's a good step forward and increases our confidence that global warming has made hurricanes stronger, but our results don't tell us precisely how much of the trends are caused by human activities and how much maybe just natural variability," he added.

Climate Change