One of the consequences of global warming is higher ocean temperatures. Warm ocean waters are the fuel that power hurricanes and other tropical cyclones, and as the oceans get warmer, these storms become more intense. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the relationship between global warming, higher ocean temperatures and increased hurricane activity.
For example, one study notes that there is a direct relationship between global warming, higher sea surface temperatures and increasing tropical storm intensity.[1] Another study demonstrates that warm years produce storms with average wind speeds 3-10% higher cold years, and that warm years are 11% more likely to have a Katrina-like storm than cold years.[2] Still another study shows that as a result of global warming, the number of severe hurricanes (Category 3 and higher) has nearly doubled.[3] Still another recently-published article[4] demonstrates that global warming was responsible for about one half of the unusually warm waters that fueled Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In short, the scientific evidence supporting the link between global warming and higher hurricane intensity is clear, and new studies supporting the connection are being published all the time. The effects of global warming are not limited to increasing hurricane intesity and frequency. According to the following studies, global warming will impact our lives in several significant ways. IPCC REPORT There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities."[5] This was the conclusion reached by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), one of the most prominent international groups addressing global warming. A copy of the IPCC's report can be found here. The report also confirms that global warming will: OTHER STUDIES Many scientists focus on how global warming will impact the Earth in the future so that we can change our plans accordingly. For example, the following graph shows numerous different computer models predicting the effect of global warming on sea levels. All of the models predict dramatic sea level increases in the future.[6] This rise in sea level will lead to significant flooding in many coastal areas such as the
[1] Robert T. Watson, et al., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Third Assessment Report: Summary for Policymakers at 5 (2001). [3] United States Environmental Protection Agency, Global Warming Impacts on Coastal Zones [7] Kevin E. Trenberth and Dennis J. Shea, Atlantic hurricanes and natural variability in 2005, 33 Geophysical Research Letters L12704 (2006). [8] James B. Elsner, Evidence in support of the climate change–Atlantic hurricane hypothesis, 33 Geophysical Research Letters L16705 (2006). [9] J. B. Elsner, T. H. Jagger, and A. A. Tsonis, Estimated return periods for Hurricane Katrina, 33 Geophysical Research Letters L08704 (2006). [10] Hoyos C.D., P.A. Agudelo, P.J. Webster, and J.A. Curry, 2006: Deconvolution of the factors contributing to the increase in global hurricane intensity, Science, 312 (5770), 94-97.
