Citation

Neu U. Nature 2008; 451(7181): E5; discussion E6.

Affiliation

ProClim, Swiss Academy of Sciences, Schwarztorstrasse 9, CH-3007 Bern, Switzerland. neu@scnat.ch

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/nature06576

PMID

18288135

Abstract

The anomaly of the recent increase in Atlantic major hurricane activity (MHA) is controversial. From a reconstruction of past MHA, Nyberg et al. conclude that the present activity is not unusual by comparison with that of the past 270 years. However, here I estimate the uncertainty of average MHA in the hurricane record before 1945 and show that the reconstruction of Nyberg et al. differs strongly from that record, and probably overestimates past MHA. Owing to this and further reasons, I question whether their reconstruction provides an accurate basis for conclusions about past MHA.

Language: en