New analysis of tropical cyclones over a 40-year-period shows these storms are becoming more destructive:

• News & Highlights

Tropical cyclones have become more intense around the globe in the past four decades, with more destructive storms forming more often, according to a study that further confirms the theory that warming oceans would drive more dangerous cyclones.

Analysis of satellite records from 1979 to 2017 found a clear rise in the most destructive cyclones – also known as hurricanes or typhoons – that deliver sustained winds in excess of about 185km/h.

Australia sits across two ocean basins where cyclones form – the southern Indian Ocean and southern Pacific Ocean – where the study also identified rising trends of the more destructive storms.