Jan 26, 2008

Global Warming reduces Atlantic Hurricanes?


Global warming could reduce the number of Atlantic hurricanes that hits the United States every year. It is revealed by a new federal study that clashes with other research. In it, researchers link warming waters, especially in the Indian and Pacific oceans, to increased vertical wind shear in the Atlantic Ocean near the United States.

According to researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Miami Lab and the University of Miami, wind shear — a change in wind speed or direction, makes it hard for hurricanes to form, strengthen and stay alive. With every degree Celsius increase in the oceans temperature, the wind shear increases by up to 10 mph, that leads to weakening storm formation.

But critics say this study is based on poor data that was rejected by scientists on the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They pointed out that at times only one in 10 North Atlantic hurricanes hit the U.S. coast and the data reflect only a small percentage of storms around the globe. Link

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