According to Yale and MIT researchers in a paper published in Nature Climate Change, tropical cyclones will cause $109 billion in damages by 2100.
Greater vulnerability to cyclones is expected to increase global tropical damage to $56 billion by 2100-double the current damage-from the current rate of $26 billion per year if the present climate remains stable.
The United States and China will be hardest hit, incurring $25 billion and $15 billion of the additional damages from climate change. This figure amounts to 75 percent of the global damages caused by climate change. Small islands, especially in the Caribbean, will also be hit hard, suffering the highest damages per unit of GDP.
The research reveals that more intense storms will become more frequent with climate change.
"With the present climate, almost 93 percent of tropical cyclone damage is caused by only 10 percent of the storms. Warming will increase the frequency of these high-intensity storms at least in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean basins, causing most of the increase in damage."
Tropical cyclones today cause $26 billion in global damages, which is 4 percent of gross world product. North America and East Asia account for 88 percent of these damages, because these regions have powerful storms and well-developed coastlines.
The paper, "The Impact of Climate Change on Global Tropical Cyclone Damage," is available at www.nature.com.