Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent statements made by the World Meteorological Organization regarding long-term trends in relation to the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones.

The Government has not conducted a specific scientific assessment of the statements by the World Meteorological Organization regarding the devastating effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on low-lying Caribbean islands and the USA, and possible links between these storms and human-made climate change.

The mechanics of tropical cyclones and how they interact with our changing climate is extremely complex. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there is a greater than 50% chance that human-induced warming over the next century will lead to an increase in the frequency of intense tropical cyclones in some areas and there is strong evidence that increasing sea temperatures increase the intensity of tropical storms when they develop. Heavier rainfall is also expected as global temperatures rise because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. Additionally, rising sea levels increase the risk of coastal flooding as hurricanes make landfall.