Map showing shifting hurricane tracks
The Northeastern coast of the USA could be struck by more frequent and more powerful hurricanes in the future due to shifting weather patterns, according to new research. Hurricanes have gradually moved northwards from the western Caribbean towards northern North America over the past few hundred years, the study led by Durham University, UK, found. The researchers suggest that this change in hurricane track was caused by the expansion of atmospheric circulation belts driven by increasing carbon dioxide emissions. New York and other major cities along the Northeast coast of the USA could come under increased threat from these severe storms and need to be better prepared for their potential impact, the researchers said. The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports. Shifting hurricane tracks Researchers reconstructed hurricane rainfall for the western Caribbean dating back 450 years by analysing the chemical composition of a stalagmite collected from a cave in southern Belize, Central America. They found that the average number of hurricanes at the Belize site decreased over time.
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