An executive in the Bermuda office of Ariel Re has contributed to a chapter in a new book looking at how hurricanes and tropical cyclones are evolving, and have become more destructive.

Elizabeth Harris, the company’s vice-president, modelling and research, is featured in Advances in Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate, which arose from the 2024 Symposium on Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate, held in Hawaii in June, and features contributions from leading scientists and academics.

Ms Harris has co-written a chapter with Robert Marsh, professor of oceanography and climate, at the University of Southampton; Jeremy Grist, senior research fellow at the UK National Oceanography Centre; and Dipanjan Dey, assistant professor, School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, at the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar.

“We conclude that changes in the speed of ocean circulation are the main cause of the increase in the warm water available in the North Atlantic for hurricane development in a high-resolution forced climate modelling,” said Ms Harris.

“As circulation in the North Atlantic slows down, it leads to a build-up of warm water available for hurricane intensification."

She added: “It is a great honour to contribute to this book, which will appeal to not only academics but policymakers and the insurance industry, who all have an interest in the way that hurricane risk is evolving due to climate change and climate variability.”

The foreword to the book is written by one of the world’s leading climate scientists, Kerry Emanuel, professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.