Ocean waves and winds are getting higher and stronger

During extreme storms, ocean waves can be more than 20 metres high, or as tall as a five-storey building.

Extreme wave conditions are increasing around the world. 

More than being just a product of our weather systems, waves are critical for ocean shipping, the stability of beaches, coastal inundation or flooding and determining the design of coastal and offshore structures.

But our new research, published in Science, shows that these waves, and the winds that generate them, are increasing in magnitude and have been doing so for the last 30 years.

These new measurements show that global average wave conditions are increasing but, more importantly, extreme wave conditions are increasing even more rapidly with the largest increases occurring in the Southern Ocean.

Read the Pursuit story by Professor Ian Young and Dr Agustinus Ribal from the University Melbourne - “Ocean waves and winds are getting higher and stronger.”