ScienceBrief on Cyclones
The ScienceBrief on climate change and cyclones has been published on ScienceBrief.org
The Brief on Climate change probably increases the severity of tropical cyclones and their destructive power has just been published with over 80 research papers linked so far, showing moderate consensus on this topic.
Explore the papers here.
Projections made by most high resolution climate models indicate that tropical cyclones will likely increase in intensity, as both windspeed and rainfall increase due to a warmer atmosphere. While the frequency of total cyclones is predicted to decrease, the proportion of severe, category 4 & 5 cyclones, is predicted to increase.
The destructive power of cyclones will be amplified by sea-level rise and increased rainfall, resulting in greater flooding. The slower forward movement of cyclones and the poleward migration of cyclone activity, observed in some areas, is expected to worsen the impact of cyclones in areas where they already occur, as well as bring cyclones to new regions.
Cyclones cause significant damage to societies around the world so it is vital to understand how their behaviour may change in the future. To read the ScienceBrief on the Cyclones click here.
Scientists are invited to contribute new papers and interpretations here.