Studies have shown that although climate change is not expected to increase the number of hurricanes, rising ocean temperatures will make hurricanes more intense. Warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, leading to heavier rainfall and flooding from these storms.
Therefore, as long as global warming continues, we can expect more intense storms on Earth.
Researchers found that from 1980 to 2021, five storms in the past nine years had maximum wind speeds exceeding 192 miles per hour, which could have been classified as Category 6 storms. Their study also used models to explore how different climate scenarios could affect hurricanes and other large storms around the world. They found that if the Earth warmed by 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the risk of Category 6 storms could double in the Gulf of Mexico and in Southeast Asia and the Philippines.
The researchers also highlighted that even the relatively low global warming target of the Paris Agreement, aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, could significantly increase the likelihood of Category 6 storms.
These findings will continue the debate about how to better communicate the threat of extreme weather events and how climate change increases that threat. For example, scientists pointed out that the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale cannot convey some of the most destructive aspects of hurricanes, such as storm surge, rainfall, and flooding. Adding a sixth category to the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale may raise awareness of the increased risk of major hurricanes due to global warming. The National Hurricane Center has also announced new experimental forecasts to better communicate the risk of inland winds during extreme weather events.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
