Potential tropical cyclone losses due to changes in severity caused by global climate change

This study is to determine how global climate change scenarios affect the loss potential of future tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic region. The two areas of concern regarding tropical cyclone activity are frequency and severity. The 1995 assessment of impacts of climate change on financial services done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change (IPCC) concluded that property insurance was the financial sector most vulnerable to climate change. Since 1985, tropical cyclones have cost property insurers and reinsurers in excess of $40 billion. Also, the IPCC report on the science of climate change stated that “In conclusion, it is not possible to say whether the frequency, area of occurrence, time of occurrence, mean intensity, or maximum intensity of tropical cyclones will change.” Each of the strongest predictors for tropical cyclone severity will be described, and their effect on the potential property losses will be investigated.