A study conducted by scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA), recently published in the journal “Science,” indicates that global warming may be contributing to the increasing frequency of devastating storms and hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina.
According to this research, storms and tornadoes like Hurricane Katrina only form when ocean temperatures exceed 26 degrees Celsius. Global warming has caused ocean temperatures to rise over the past several decades, making powerful storms and hurricanes increasingly common.
Based on data collected by satellites from 1970 to 2004, American scientists reported that the number of large storms remained unchanged during this period; however, the number of storms that intensified into major hurricanes has increased, particularly in the North and Southwest Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the North Atlantic.
The doubling of very intense storms coinciding with rising ocean surface temperatures has led scientists to conclude that global warming is responsible for both phenomena.
A study by meteorologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), published last August, also indicated that a global temperature increase of more than 1 degree Celsius from 1970 to 2004 has resulted in an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms as well as ocean surface temperatures in the Atlantic.
