Hurricanes had already become worse due to global warming before 2017

Just not in the English-speaking world

2017 saw the Atlantic Ocean break seven records for hurricane activity and severity. The accumulated cyclone energy was 50% above the level required for the season to be considered extremely active. While credible observers attribute the severity and frequency of hurricanes during 2017 to be attributable to global warming, this isn’t a statistical slam dunk. The fingerprints of warming are there, but still, only one year.

If the Atlantic were the only region with hurricanes, then this wouldn’t be a strong indicator. But it isn’t. However, hurricanes aren’t called hurricanes in Asia, but even in English-language press are referred to as typhoons or cyclones. What’s been happening in places that don’t call hurricanes hurricanes?

Typhoons which hit land in Asia have increased in severity, with clear increases of high-severity storms over the past 37 years. That’s not a single year of bad storms, that’s 37 years of trending increases in severity.

The best study on the subject is a statistical analysis published in Nature Geoscience, which has a very robust impact factor of 12.05. This is a very credible journal, so papers in it can be considered more reliable. The paper was co-authored by…