WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - As Hurricane Ivan and its powerful winds churned through the Gulf of Mexico, scientists told Congress on Wednesday that global warming could produce stronger and more destructive hurricanes in the future. Global warming will increase the temperature of ocean water that fuels hurricanes, leading to stronger winds, heavier rains and larger storm surges, the researchers told the Senate Commerce Committee.
However, the increase in ocean temperatures is unlikely to boost the average number of Atlantic hurricanes that form each year, they said.
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Warmer water temperatures will promote more intense tropical storms, but not necessarily make the frequency of those storms greater," said Dan Cayan, a research meteorologist at the University of California in San Diego. "An increase of even a degree or so in the right environment would cause intensities to increase," he said.
Some members of Congress, scientists and environmental groups contend that global warming is upsetting environmental balances by altering fragile weather patterns in the world. However, 10 climatologists and scientists sent a letter to Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who heads the committee, saying there is no scientific evidence of a link between severe weather -- such as hurricanes, blizzards and heat waves -- and global warming. They argued that warmer periods of temperatures have actually led to a decline in the number and severity of storms."
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