Research conducted by scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA), recently published in the journal “Science,” indicates that global warming may be a contributing factor to the increasing frequency of devastating storms and hurricanes, similar to Hurricane Katrina.
According to this study, storms and hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina, only form when ocean temperatures exceed 26 degrees Celsius. Global warming has led to rising ocean temperatures over the past several decades, resulting in a growing prevalence of powerful storms and hurricanes with immense destructive capabilities.
Based on data collected by satellites from 1970 to 2004, American scientists reported that the number of major storms remained unchanged during this period. However, the number of storms that intensified into strong hurricanes has increased, particularly in the North and Southwest Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the North Atlantic.
The number of extremely intense storms and hurricanes has doubled, coinciding with rising ocean surface temperatures. This correlation has led scientists to conclude that global warming has contributed to both phenomena.
Research by meteorologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), published last August, also indicated that a global temperature increase of over 1 degree Celsius from 1970 to 2004 has heightened the frequency and intensity of hurricanes and elevated Atlantic Ocean surface temperatures.