Scientists Claim Rapid Intensification of Hurricanes is Becoming More Common Due to Climate Change

The rapid intensification of hurricanes is becoming more common due to climate change, according to scientists.

The warning came days after Hurricane Ian rapidly strengthened in the Caribbean region as it passed over the "ultra-warm waters" of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as when Super Typhoon Noru rapidly became more powerful within 24 hours when it struck the Philippines this weekend.

Experts provided growing evidence that the ongoing climate crisis is fueling this hurricane-strengthening process.

This is previously laid out by multiple scientific and government reports, including those from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which in May 2022, predicated that there will be an above-average hurricane season this year in terms of storm frequency and strengthening.

In November 2021, Nature World News also covered previous assessments of experts, who said that the changing climate are marking hurricanes stronger and intense.

This analysis means that these weather systems are capable of holding more energy to carry and unleash powerful winds and rainfall never seen before in history.

These upgraded hurricanes can also last longer and move further inland.

Rapid Intensification

(Photo : Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)

Scientists have defined rapid intensification as a wind spread increase of at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours or less.

This makes a hurricane's winds to strengthened very quickly within a short amount of time, as cited by CNN.

In the case of Hurricane Ian, experts told CNN that the National Hurricane Center (NHC) prediction was an unprecedented forecast which previously projected Ian would rapidly intensify from a tropical storm into at least a Category 4 hurricane in less than 72 hours.

Some scientists claimed that the rare phenomenon is becoming more likely due to the climate crisis advancement.

This climatic shift pushes ocean temperatures higher and provide the necessary ingredients for tropical storms to burst out and become deadly hurricanes.

Also Read: Climate Change Will Bring More Intense Hurricanes to New York, Says New Study

Climate Change is to Blame

In recent years, climate scientists have warned world governments and industry leaders in the looming threat posed by human-induced climate change and global warming.

The planetary warming has led to increased ocean temperatures, resulting not only in rising sea levels and melting glaciers but also serve as a fuel for hurricanes.

This phenomenon became more evident by the turn of the 21st century.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southern Florida, causing widespread destruction worth over $100 billion and high number fatalities of about 1,800.

The Category 5 Atlantic hurricane primarily wreaked havoc the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas.

Katrina is reportedly considered to be the deadliest and costliest hurricane modern US history, according to the US News.

In July 2022, the NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) stated that a simulation-based study of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season estimate that human-triggered global warming had increased hurricane extreme hourly rainfall rates by 11% and extreme three-day accumulation rainfall amounts by 8%.

Aside from sea surface temperatures, research suggested that the burning of greenhouse gases and burning of fossil fuels are still the greatest contributors to the warming of the planet.