How climate change could cause more mega-storms like Super Typhoon Mangkhut and Hurricane Florence
As ocean temperatures rise with global warming, the tropical cyclones that threaten both East Asia and the Atlantic seaboard could grow in strength and intensity
As Super Typhoon Mangkhut – potentially one of the strongest storms to hit Hong Kong – sweeps across east Asia and Hurricane Florence threatened the east coast of the United States, scientists have reiterated that rising temperatures could mean that such mega-storms will become more common in future.
“Warm sea surface temperatures help intensify tropical cyclones,” said Xie Shang-ping, an environmental scientist at the University of California in San Diego. “This summer, sea surface temperatures have been abnormally warm in many parts of the world, as part of the general global warming trend.”
The Hong Kong Observatory said super typhoons – the strongest category – were slightly more common now than they were between 1961 and 2010.
Four cyclones – Jelawat, Maria, Jebi and Mangkhut – have reached super typhoon intensity over the north Pacific and South China Sea so far this year.
Super typhoons are tropical storms with maximum sustained winds of at least 185km/h, equivalent to a category five hurricane.
In May, forecasters at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that the North Atlantic would see another above-normal hurricane season this year, following the devastating string of storms last year that caused a record damage in the Caribbean.
