Uncategorized

Warmer oceans “make strongest storms stronger”

As temperatures rise in the world's oceans, the strongest tropical storms are strenthening, Reuters reported climate scientists as warning. "If the seas continue to warm, we can expect to see stronger storms in the future," James Elsner, of Florida State University, was reported saying.

"As far as this year goes, as a season, we did see the oceans warm and I think there’s some reason to believe that that’s the reason
we’re seeing the amount of activity we are."

Many climate scientists link stronger storms to rising sea surface temperatures under the "heat engine theory": because warm tropical cyclones feed on warm water, the warmer the water, the more intense the storm.

Hurricane Gustav made landfall on Monday just west of New Orleans; three more storms are reported to moving toward the United States. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 12 to 16 tropical storms between June 1 and November 30 this year, the report said, with six to nine hurricanes and two to five major hurricanes.

See full story