Global warming causing more tropical storms: NASA

[Barrett808]

Source: AFP

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Global warming is increasing the frequency of extremely high clouds in the Earth's tropics that cause severe storms and rainfall, according to a NASA study released Friday.

The space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said a study by its scientists "found a strong correlation between the frequency of these clouds and seasonal variations in the average sea surface temperature of the tropical oceans."

"For every degree Centigrade (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in average ocean surface temperature, the team observed a 45-percent increase in the frequency of the very high clouds," according to the study, recently published in Geophysical Research Letters.

"At the present rate of global warming of 0.13 degrees Celsius (0.23 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade, the team inferred the frequency of these storms can be expected to increase by six percent per decade."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081219/sc_afp/usclimatewarming

[doc03]

1. I think global warming is just the normal climate

cycle. About thirty years ago I remember our local weatherman did a week long series on the coming ice age. I find it hard to believe that a 1º temperature change in almost 50 years will make the world come to an end.

[Barrett808]

2. I always recommend "The Discovery of Global Warming" by Spencer Weart:

Very much worth reading: http://www.aip.org/history/climate .