From BBC
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Climate reporter, BBC News
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The coming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be busier than usual, US science agency NOAA has warned, just as cuts to American research are raising fears about the ability to track and prepare for these often deadly storms.
Between six and 10 hurricanes are forecast for the Atlantic between June and November, compared with the typical seven.
Warmer sea temperatures – made more likely by climate change – and generally favourable atmospheric conditions, are behind the forecast.
Several scientists have told the BBC that widespread firings by President Donald Trump’s administration of government researchers could endanger efforts to monitor hurricanes and predict where they might hit.
Today’s 2025 Atlantic season outlook covers the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, called the Gulf of America by the Trump administration.
In total NOAA expects between 13 and 19 named tropical storms. Of these, between six and 10 could become hurricanes, including three to five major ones – meaning they reach category three or above (111mph or 178km/h).
That’s not as many as last year’s very active season, which saw 18 tropical storms including 11 hurricanes of which five were major hurricanes.
But it’s more than the long-term average of 14 named tropical storms a year, of which seven are usually hurricanes, with three major ones among them.
Climate change is not expected to increase the number of these storms globally. But a warming planet is thought to increase the chances of
