Climate Change to Cause More Killer Storms, Violent Typhoons Like Haiyan (VIDEOS)

(Source: Youtube/theABSCBNNews)

After Typhoon Haiyan left the Philippines with thousands dead, 600,000 people displaced and devastation in worse-hit areas, metereologists warn of increasingly violent typhoons and cyclones due to rising ocean temperatures.

Scientists have yet to announce a formal link between typhoons like Haiyan and global warming but they believe there the behaviour of cyclones change with the climate.

The disastrous aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan cast a shadow on the United Nations climate change talks that began on Nov. 11 in Warsaw, Poland. Although the official death toll is at 1,800, Philippine authorities fear over 10,000 died from the destructive force of Typhoon Haiyan.

According to reports, some towns have not yet received relief despite foreign and local aid slowly being mobilised to reach survivors in Tacloban City.

According to a French university professor and climatologist Herve Le Treut, oceans have a tendency to have high temperatures and cause developing cyclones to intensify. He said this is part of the risks as the climate changes.

Cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are all the same and only differ in name based on the geographical location they hit. In general, meteorologists use the term "cyclone" in reference to super storms.

In September, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was commissioned by the United Nations to make scientific assessments on climate change risks. The IPCC released a report stating that oceans rose in temperature from 1971 to 2010.

In 2007, the IPCC said that it was possible that cyclones will intensify and bring more rain based on climate models.

Lead negotiator for an alliance of small island nations Olai Ngedikes said that Typhoon Haiyan should be a "stark reminder" of the lack of action among governments in the world. He said the typhoon should motivate climate change negotiators to push an agreement in Warsaw.

Philippine representative to the UN climate change talks, Naderev Sano said he would fast or refrain from eating in solidarity with typhoon victims or until a meaningful solution will be reached. Mr Sano said the effect of climate change is madness. He added they can put an end to the madness by arriving at an agreement in Warsaw.

His declaration moved many of the climate negotiators to tears and he was given a standing ovation.