Climate Change and Hurricanes   Studies note that as the world warms, so will the water, creating situations ripe for stronger storms. Recent studies have shown: Over the last 30 years the destructive power of storms has increased 70 percent in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans Over the same period, the percentage of hurricanes classified as category 4 or 5 increased.  These findings correlate with the rise in sea surface temperatures in regions where tropical cyclones typically originate. Moreover, as glaciers melt and water level rises, the potential impacts from even small storms intensify.    We have already seen this impact on the least of these in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  And that is in the richest country in the world.  Communities impacted by hurricanes in the summer of 2007 in Mexico and Latin America lived in even worse poverty.  This year marked the first year that two hurricanes classified as Category 5 have hit land.  These children of God deserve our help.   Read more from the Union of Concerned Scientists   Faith Based Resources God’s Earth is Sacred:  An Open Letter to Church and Society in the United States Christian Aid   Learn More From the NCC: Climate Change and Poverty Environmental Justice - Home Climate Change and Energy Environmental Health   More Information: Earth Trends World Bank United Nations Development Programme