Global Warming and Hurricanes

Global Warming and Hurricanes

       After watching the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which is focused around Al Gore and his fight against global warming I was intrigued to research more about how hurricanes and global warming are connected. 

       Being from Florida, I have been exposed to many hurricanes in my lifetime and I never was once told that there could possibly be a connection between them and the phenomenon of global warming. 

I have researched the connection between the two and have come to the conclusion that global warming does have an effect on hurricanes. 

The data in the film does not lie when it proves that hurricanes have increased over time. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions stated: 

"In the North Atlantic there has been a clear increase in the frequency of tropical storms and major hurricanes. From 1850-1990, the long-term average number of tropical storms was about 10, including about 5 hurricanes. For the period of 1998-2007, the average is about 15 tropical storms per year, including about 8 hurricanes. This increase in frequency correlates strongly with the rise in North Atlantic sea surface temperature, and recent peer-reviewed scientific studies link this temperature increase to global warming."

       There has also been proof that the intensity of such hurricanes have increased. The below graph shows that with the increasing temperature of the water, the intensity of hurricanes has also increased. 

(Source: http://www.skepticalscience.com/hurricanes-global-warming-intermediate.htm)

       One can clearly see that the relation between water temperature and storm frequency/intensity is strong. To further prove my point, below is a video that explains the connection between global warming and hurricanes:

       With all the evidence, it is hard to argue that global warming does not affect our storms. I think that this is a major issue that needs to be attended to immediately or else our nation could be in for worse storms and even bigger catastrophic consequences. 

Feel free to visit the website for An Inconvenient Truth which provides even more detailed information and other arguments regarding global warming that you may be interested in.