Rapid heating of Indian Ocean worsening cyclones, say scientists

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/27/rapid-heating-of-indian-ocean-worsening-cyclones-say-scientists

 

Neelima Vallangi
Thu 27 May 2021 04.41 EDT

India’s cyclone season is being made more intense by the rapidly heating Indian Ocean, scientists have warned.

Last week India was battered by Cyclone Tauktae, an unusually strong cyclone in the Arabian Sea, resulting in widespread disruption. This week, another severe storm, Cyclone Yaas, formed in the Bay of Bengal, leading to more than a million people being evacuated into safe shelters.

The Indian subcontinent has been facing the brunt of costly and deadly tropical cyclones for decades. But scientists say global heating is accelerating the rate of ocean warming, leading to an increased number of cyclones and rapid intensification of weak storms, with severe repercussions for the country.

Cyclones are much more likely to gather intensity over warmer waters. The Arabian Sea, part of the west Indian Ocean, generally has a sea surface temperature of below 28C (82F), and recorded just 93 cyclones between 1891 and 2000. By comparison, the warmer Bay of Bengal in the east Indian Ocean, where temperatures are permanently above 28C, recorded 350 cyclones over the same period.

Between 2001 and 2021, 28 cyclones formed in the Arabian Sea, along with a marked increase in storm intensity, fuelled by rising sea surface temperatures which reached as high as 31C (88F). A 2016 Nature study found ant