Represents the first study to show increasing potential intensity in most places as the world warms, with an average trend of about 10 miles per hour for every °C of tropical sea surface temperature incease

• States tropical cyclones rank with earthquakes as the major geophysical causes of loss of life and property
• Uses a simple Carnot cycle model to estimate the maximum intensity of tropical cyclones under the somewhat warmer conditions expected to result from increased atmospheric CO2 content
• Estimates based on August mean conditions over the tropical oceans predicted by a general circulation model with twice the present CO2 content yield a 40–50% increase in the destructive potential of hurricanes