Graphing the Impact of Global Warming on
Hurricanes Frequency and Intensity
One of the most significant climate years in recent history is 2005. This year was the warmest in recorded history, and had the greatest number of hurricanes. In addition, one of the most damaging hurricanes to ever hit the United States, Hurricane Katrina, made landfall in New Orleans. The Inconvenient Truth movie, which was released in 2006, strongly suggested a potential link between these storm events and the ever-increasing surface air and water temperatures. This link is very much in debate, and this activity will allow students to directly look at the data and make their own conclusions about the possible relationship.
Essential concepts: Global warming, global climate change, hurricanes, climate, greenhouse effect.
