Study finds 80% of recent Atlantic hurricanes are stronger due to climate change

A new study published in the Environmental Research: Climate links climate change to the maximum intensity of hurricanes.

The methodology researchers used links human-amplified climate change, such as excess ocean heat content from greenhouse gas emissions, to the maximum speed at which a hurricane can intensify.

Researchers found that over 80% of Atlantic hurricanes between 2019 and 2023 were, on average, 18 mph stronger because of climate change.

Climate change fits into hurricane season through warmer-than-normal temperatures to record ocean temperatures. Over the past half-century, the ocean has stored more than 90% of the excess energy trapped in Earth's system by greenhouse gases and other factors, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

When conditions are right, warm seas fuel hurricanes through that rapid intensification process. While this rapid intensification process can be dated all the way back to the 1980s and even the 70s, the difference now is how many storms go through rapid intensification each season.

For the 2024 season, researchers claim that their methodology applies to every named storm that became a hurricane. It can sometimes be enough to move a storm from one category to the next one higher, even pushing it to become a major hurricane. An example is Hurricane Rafael, which went from a Category 1 to Category 3, a major hurricane so late in the season. More importantly, we know that the stronger a hurricane, the greater the impact can be to those in its path.

Specifically with Hurricane Beryl, researchers' analysis found that Beryl grew 18 mph stronger thanks to human-amplified climate change. While Beryl made landfall here in southeast Texas as a Category 1 storm, the hurricane was previously a Category 5 in the Caribbean.

Furthermore, researchers determined it was unlikely Beryl would have reached Category 5 status without the impact of climate change.

ABC News reports that tropical storms and hurricanes have cost communities $1.4 trillion in damages and claimed more than 7,200 lives since 1980, according to The National Center for Environmental Information.

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