Global warming not only seriously damages the global ecosystem, but has been shown to have various effects such as an increase in the number of deaths due to traffic accidents or violent incidents, and increased suicide due to adverse effects on mental health. But this time, a study that analyzed satellite data over the past 40 years says that hurricanes are getting stronger.
Researchers at the US Ocean and Atmospheric Administration NOAA and the University of Wisconsin Madison analyzed infrared temperature measurement data collected by geostationary satellites from 1979 to 2017 to investigate the impact of global warming on hurricane power.
One of the team’s participants noted in a 2013 study based on a 28-year dataset that hurricanes tend to have a stronger hippocampus. However, the 2013 study conducted this study to prove statistically significant results because the data set period was relatively short and there was nothing conclusive.
The research team hypothesized that for several years, global warming would increase seawater temperature and increase humidity in the atmosphere, resulting in greater typhoon power. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain detailed data as typhoons do not occur sporadically, and typhoons occurring at sea do not affect the area where humans live.
It is also pointed out that the main obstacle when looking for typhoon trends is that the data was collected with the best technology at the time. Since the equipment that collects data such as typhoons is upgraded every year, the content and accuracy included in the observed annual data may differ, and it is necessary to combine all these satellite data.
However, recently computer models for analyzing satellite data have evolved. The research team was able to analyze how the typhoon power changed based on satellite data collected from 1979 to 2017. As a result of the study, it was found that the likelihood that hurricane wind speeds classified according to SSHWS (Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale) will develop into Category 3 or higher, exceeding 177 km/h, has increased by 8% every 10 years since 1979. Hurricanes are getting stronger every year.
As hypothesized, it was confirmed that hurricanes are getting stronger, but the research team says that global warming and other factors contribute to hurricane intensity. Therefore, the results of the study explain that it was not possible to see exactly how strong human activities made typhoons and the effect of natural changes on hurricane intensity.
Nevertheless, the strengthening of typhoons between 1979 and 2017 is consistent with the results of global warming simulations. The research team explains that the findings that hurricanes are getting stronger are consistent with expectations about the hurricane’s response to global warming. Related information can be found here .