New Research Reveals Earlier Arrival of Severe Hurricanes Due to Climate Change
In the United States, a recent study has made a discovery that due to climate change, severe oceanic hurricanes with wind speeds of 131 miles per hour or more have been arriving three to four days earlier than expected since the 1980s.
According to media reports, severe hurricanes, heavy rainfall, floods, destructive winds, and coastal storms are among the most devastating natural disasters worldwide. The results of a joint study by environmental scientists from the University of Hawaii, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and Hawaii State Climatologists have recently been published in the journal ‘Nature.’
Professor Paul Shen Cho, an environmental science professor at the University of Hawaii, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, stated that when severe hurricanes arrive earlier than usual, they pose unexpected challenges for communities. He further explained that these hurricanes can overlap with other seasonal patterns, such as the example of localized thunderstorms accompanying the monsoon rains, leading to severe conditions and potentially ineffective responses.
Using satellite data, historical hurricane records, NOAA precipitation data, and various statistical records, Paul Shen Cho and his co-authors found a significant change in the timing of severe hurricane occurrences from the 1980s, extending from autumn to the summer months.