- RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
- 14 April 2026
Storms that cross exceptionally warm ocean waters intensify more quickly and do more damage than storms that do not.
Before hitting Mexico, Hurricane Otis (pictured) intensified explosively in 2023 while passing over a stretch of ocean that exceeded 30 °C. Credit: NASA
Unusually hot oceans breed rapidly intensifying, destructive and costly tropical cyclones — storms that form over oceans and are also known as hurricanes and typhoons1.
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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01201-8
