Climate Change Producing Powerful Storms; 2020 Bleak ~ Report

Man-made climate change is helping to make hurricanes bigger and more powerful, according to a recent study in the United States.

The power of Hurricane Dorian left parts of The Bahamas devastated.The study, done by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Wisconsin and published last month, noted that the warming of Earth over the last four decades has made it eight percent more likely a tropical cyclone will turn into a hurricane of Category 3 strength or higher per decade.

Global warming has been recognized by scientists as a main contributing factor in worsening of extreme weather conditions like hurricanes. According to the 2015 National Climate Assessment, which is mandated every four years by the U.S. Congress, “hurricane intensity and rainfall are projected to increase as the climate continues to warm.”

SPEED FACTOR

The speed of hurricanes have also reported slowed down when traveling over water and land. That, scientists believe, can leads to increased torrential rain, flooding and storm surge.

“The trend is there and it is real,” James P. Kossin, lead author of the study, told The New York Times. “There’s this remarkable building of this body of evidence that we’re making these storms more deleterious.”

The Caribbean has felt the brunt of some of the most powerful storms in recent times. Last year, for example, Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5, devastated parts of The Bahamas. Some scientists believe that is a sign of things to come.

Most climate watch organizations have predicted 2020 will produce an above-average hurricane season in the Atlantic.