Increased tropical cyclone risk to coasts

The trends in tropical cyclones point to more frequent strong storms near land The record-breaking 2020 North Atlantic hurricane season has brought new attention to tropical cyclone (TC) risk. Although the astounding total of 30 named storms is not necessarily a signature of climate change, anthropogenic climate change is increasing the threat posed by TCs in other ways. The most confidently predictable changes in TC activity with warming are an increase in the occurrence and intensity of the most intense TCs, an increase in the precipitation associated with TCs, and an increase in storm-surge flooding due to sea level rise (1). On top of these changes, on page 514 of this issue, Wang and Toumi (2) provide evidence that TC activity close to land is increasing, with a substantial increase in TC risk to coastal regions.