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Tropical Hurricanes in the Age of Global Warming

“Simply no increase” in hurricane activity around the world

London 13 January:   A new paper from the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) reveals that there has been no increase in global hurricane activity, despite frequent claims that global warming is making hurricanes more of a problem.

As the report’s author, Paul Homewood, explains:

“The theory is that rising sea-surface temperatures should make hurricanes more frequent or more intense or both. But observational data shows that there is no empirical evidence to support the theory.”

This is because most records of hurricane activity show no long-term increases, either in total numbers of hurricanes or of the most intense ones.

Says Homewood:

“The best records we have are of US landfalling hurricanes. Based on this dataset, we’d expect two hurricanes each year, or occasionally three. But since 2000, the series average is just 1.5. It’s the same if you look at the Atlantic hurricane records or the shorter global record: there is simply no increase in activity.”

Paul Homewood: Tropical Hurricanes in the Age of Global Warming (PDF)

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