According to a recent study by research meteorologist Tom Knutson the global warming is not the cause of the increase in hurricanes in the Atlantic in the last years. On the contrary, the prominent federal scientist reported in its study on Sunday that warmer temperatures are more likely to reduce the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic.

The news surprised the public opinion, since the scientist previously raised concerns about global warming’s effects on storms. It seems like his position regarding this matter has changed, being expected to cause quite a debate among meteorologists regarding the present and future effects of climate change in the Atlantic.

Beginning with 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit the Atlantic coast, scientists oriented to global warming in order to explain the birth of hurricanes, saying that this and warmer waters fuel them.

The study, which was published in the online journal Nature Geoscience on Sunday, said that it is likely that the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic to decrease by 18 percent by the end of the century. Also, the number of hurricanes making landfall in the United States and its neighbors is expected to fall by 30 percent due to wind factors.

However, Knutson found that the hurricanes and tropical storms will get wetter and fiercer.

Knutson is meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fluid dynamics lab in Princeton, N.J. and is renowned for complaining that the Bush administration censored his studies on the threats of global warming.