A new report has found that the severity and frequency of hurricanes are significantly correlated with the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
Researchers from the US Geological Survey have used data from NOAA to calculate the correlation between the CO 2 concentration in the oceans and the likelihood of an extreme hurricane.
They found that in the year after the release of the first CO 2 data, the likelihood for an extreme event in the Atlantic and Caribbean decreased by 25 percent.
In the year following, the probability of a hurricane occurring increased by about 50 percent, while the probability increased in the Pacific by only 4 percent.
The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In order to find the link, the researchers took the NOAA weather data and compared it with the historical data, which show that hurricanes have been stronger since then.
They then compared those trends to the climate models and climate scientists were able to use this to predict the severity, frequency and severity of a major hurricane.
The researchers say this analysis shows that the increase in CO2 concentration in oceans caused by human activities is linked to the increase of hurricane activity.
“While climate change may have contributed to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme events in the past, it is also possible that future increases in CO 2 concentrations will have similar impacts,” the authors write.
“We suggest that this increase in atmospheric CO 2 may lead to more frequent and severe events due to higher CO 2 levels in the ocean, which could lead to an increase in hurricane activity.”
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