Global Warming Hurricanes

Benefits of Recycling.com is presenting this series of pages on global warming becaue we believe there is evidence to support it is real. Even so, we are open to be proven wrong, which is why there are pages on why it is not real. Fair is fair.

The truth is we just want people to be aware that human activities (as well as natural causes) have the possibility of creating adverse effects in the Us, Antarctica, Greenland, and throughout the world.

Global warming can also be detrimental to nature and creatures such as polar bears and sea life like coral reefs. So is global warming a myth or are there facts to support it as a reality of our times? Is there really such a thing as the greenhouse effect? And if so, what is that?

Whether you believe global warming is real or not, we invite you to read what we have uncovered on the many pages of this site... and beyond. Remember, knowledge is power.

Global Warming Hurricanes / The Coriolis Effect

Nature has its own ways of showing anger to the mankind. From times immemorial mankind has been the victim of earthquakes, floods, asteroids hitting the earth, volcanoes, hurricanes, droughts and so on. A hurricane is the phenomenon of formation of a cyclonic storm system over the oceans.

It is caused by evaporated water that comes off of the ocean and becomes a storm.

The Coriolis Effect causes the storms to spin, and a hurricane is declared when this spinning mass of storms attains a wind speed greater than 74 mph. The word hurricane is used for these phenomena in the Atlantic Ocean, tropical cyclone in the Indian, and 'typhoon in the eastern Pacific.

They have been impacting the earth and threatening survival for many centuries. There have been mixed views on whether global warming is contributing to the increase in frequency and intensity of hurricanes.

Global Warming Hurricanes / Tropical Storms

One theory states that there has been a clear increase in the frequency of tropical storms and major hurricanes in the North Atlantic. 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 contemplative scientific studies link this temperature increase to global warming.

Several peer-reviewed studies show a clear global trend toward increased intensity of the strongest hurricanes over the past two or three decades. The strongest trends are in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

A new study in the journal Nature found that hurricanes and typhoons have become stronger and longer-lasting over the past 30 years. These upswings correlate with a rise in sea surface temperatures.

Global Warming Hurricanes / POV of Scientists

Contrary to the above statement, many scientists believe that there is no clear evidence that the number of hurricanes and their northwest Pacific Ocean cousins, typhoons, is increasing because of the rise in global temperatures.

They state that the primary factor in the ability of a hurricane to strengthen or weaken is the wind shear profile of the atmosphere - not water temperature; it always has been warm enough in the tropics to produce hurricanes. This temperature equates to a sea surface temperature of about 80°F.

Some studies based on the behavior of hurricanes show that there have been cases where hurricanes have strengthened over cooler water and have weakened over warmer water.

The recent upturn in tropical cyclone activity was predicted long before global warming became a household name. The tropical Atlantic has been known to vary in cycles, and this recent upturn was expected. If one compares the period from 1900 to about 1950, with the 1950s until now, he/she would find an actual decrease in the average number of hurricanes and their intensity.

It also is noted that the upswing in hurricane numbers over the past ten years or more has been only in the North Atlantic basin. Other hurricane formation regions have not shown this same trend. Also, one study reported that there was only a 5 percent change in wind speeds over 80 years due to increases in heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

Global Warming Hurricanes / El Niño

However, it is strongly believed that El Niño events affect the behavior of hurricanes. They typically suppress hurricane activity in the North Atlantic. The El Niño Southern Oscillation is a pattern of short-term climate variability in the tropical Pacific. Warm phases are known as El Niño events and cold phases are known as La Niña events.

El Niño events in the Pacific, which occur every 4-7 years, tend to suppress hurricane activity in the Atlantic but enhance it in the North Pacific. La Niña events create conditions more favorable for Atlantic hurricanes.

Global Warming Hurricanes / The Future

Whatoever or whomever may be the effect of global warming on hurricanes; we must plan our communities better, we must design our buildings and infrastructure better, and we should manage resources better. Steps taken today to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions will limit the effort necessary to adapt to climate change that will inevitably result from global warming.

Global Warming Hurricanes / Sources

http://news.discovery.com/earth/does-global-warming-cause-hurricanes.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/global-warming-to-bring-s_n_471227.html
http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0804_050804_hurricanewarming.html

For more information on Global Warming follow these links:

Definition For Global Warming

Ways to Prevent Global Warming

Global Warming is Real

Global Warming is Not Real

Global Warming Predictions

Global Warming Antarctica

Human Effects of Global Warming

Natural Causes of Global Warming

Facts on Global Warming

How To Stop Global Warming

Global Warming For Kids

Global Warming Myths

Global Warming Evidence

Global Warming Green House Effect

Global Warming Polar Bears