MIAMI – As water temperatures continue to rise due to human-caused climate change, hurricanes are getting stronger. That’s the conclusion of two new reports released this week by Climate Central.
In the first report, all Atlantic hurricanes from the 2019 to 2023 hurricane seasons were analyzed. The report found that human-driven sea surface temperature shifts drove robust intensity increases in 84% of those hurricanes.
The study found that hurricanes during the 2019–2023 seasons were on average 19-mph stronger than they would have been in a world without climate change. The tropical waters were around 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer which provides higher octane fuel to feed stronger hurricanes.
In the 2nd study, using new peer-reviewed research, Climate Central analyzed just the hurricanes from the 2024 season. The team found climate change boosted every hurricane – some by as much as 28 mph.
The conclusion: Human-caused global warming elevated ocean temperatures and boosted all eleven storms’ highest sustained wind speeds by 9 to 28 miles per hour. This increase moved seven of the hurricanes into a higher Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale category and strengthened Hurricanes Debby and Oscar from tropical storms into hurricanes.
Hurricane Milton moved over Gulf waters that were much warmer due to climate change than they should have been. The result of that warmth was Milton’s maximum winds were made 23 mph stronger and it shifted the storm from a category 4 to a category 5.
While a wind boost of 20 mph may not seem like much, it has a huge impact on damages. Just a 10% increase in wind speeds causes a doubling of damage (including wind, surge, rain flooding and tornadoes).
In fact, the studies found that a huge amount – around 45% of overall damage from Helene and Milton – can be attributed to human-caused climate change.
Since most climate change is caused by the release of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels, and land-use changes, the only way currently to slow global warming is to reduce fossil fuel use and increase land’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
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