According to Dr Greg Holland from the United States National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, who wrote the report, warmer ocean temperatures and changes in wind patterns caused by global climate change are stimulating much of the hurricane increases.
Some researchers say that hurricanes are cyclical and the rise is just an indication of a natural pattern.
But the authors of this study say that it isn't just a natural pattern and that the frequency of storms has risen throughout the last century.
What are hurricanes?
Hurricanes are a spinning vortex of winds that swirl around an eye of a low pressure system.
Thunder clouds surround the outskirts of these storms and they can wreak havok on people and property when they hit land. Much like the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans back in 2005.
Scientific analyses recently suggests that hurricane numbers have increased since the mid-1980's.
There is a new study, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in London, that looks at the occurrences of these storms from 1900 to 2006 and it says about twice as many form each year now compared to 100 years ago.
The authors say that man-made climate change, which has raised the temperature of the ocean surface, is the major contributor to the rise in numbers.
"Over the period we've had natural variability in the frequency of storms, which has contributed less than 50% of the actual increase in our view," said Dr Greg Holland.
"Approximately 60%, and possibly even 70% of what we are seeing in the last decade can be attributed directly to greenhouse warming," he said.
Experts say that 2007 will be a very active season with nine hurricanes predicted, of which five are expected to be intense.
*So come this hurricane season, please take hurricane warnings and evacuations seriously! Stay tuned for articles on what to do when a hurricane warning is issued for your area! Take care!
Dena Ventrudo
Works cited:
For more information on how to help save energy and fight global warming, visit these links:
Calculate your carbon dioxide output
grist.org
idealbite.com
treehugger.com
StopGlobalWarming.org
Natural Resources Defense Council
Greenpeace on Global Warming
GlobalWarming- in plain English
Global Warming- Undo It
Global Waming.org
