The Hurricanes and Global Warming report of the day is on MSNBC.COM.
The report states that according to a study released Thursday by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, global warming accounted for about half of the extra heat in the Atlantic last year, which in turn caused last year’s record-breaking hurricane season.
The study found that sea-surface temperatures in Atlantic waters were a record 1.7 degrees F above the 1901-1970 average.
The researchers compared the Atlantic data to worldwide data since the early 20th century, and calculated that global warming explained about 0.8 degrees of this rise.
