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The word, "hurricane" has developed a sort of deadly silence every time it is spoken, mostly because its reputation is taking on a more deadly and destructive personality each passing year. But are we just thinking that hurricanes are becoming increasingly volatile because of the extensive news coverage offered today— hurricanes Katrina and Rita?
Most scientists would have to, sadly, say no. There have been numerous findings over recent years that indicate hurricanes are indeed growing in strength and anger. It is almost as if Mother Earth has had enough with our blatant disregard for her and is taking matters into her own hands.
Truth is, this might not be all that far off from the truth. Such findings have shown that what could be the greatest cause of the increased power of hurricanes, is the rise of global temperatures which has been slowly creeping up on us these past couple decades--the rise in sea surface temperatures to be exact.
They are not only increasing in power, however, but also longevity and sheer precipitation dump. To give you a startling statistic, this rise in aggression has been calculated as equivalent to an increase of 50 percent as compared to 30 years ago.
The author of this statistic, Kerry Emanuel, the professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, is claiming that we should see a rise in hurricane strength by as much as 5 percent for every 1ºC (1.8ºF) that sea temperature rises.
But not all scientists agree with Emanuel's theory. Chris Landsea of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, says the only reason hurricanes appear to be causing more damage is not because they are any more destructive, but rather because there are more people and homes in their paths.
There are always two sides to every story, but the fact still remains that “for every action there is an equal, but opposite, reaction”. If Hurricane strength is changing from the rise in sea temperature, what could we be in for next?
Sources:
National Geographic News
Rocky Mountain News
This post was inspired by Focus Earth.
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