Global warming may affect severe weather events, although experts attending a World Meteorological Organization workshop said evidence is inconclusive.

Workshop participants said increased economic damage caused by storms such as hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones is largely the result of "increasing coastal populations and, perhaps, a rising sensitivity of modern societies to disruptions of infrastructure."

Temperature records and computer models indicated the warming climate will generate more frequent and powerful storms, the WMO said.

Despite differing positions about their cause, experts said, "given the consistency between high resolution global models, regional hurricane models and 'maximum potential intensity' theories, it is likely that some increase ... will occur if the climate continues to warm."

The influence of climate change on "tropical cyclones" -- a term that describes hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones -- gained attention after 2004 and 2005 saw a large number of high-impact storms in Japan, China and the United States, NewScientist.com said.

Scientists said changes in the observational methods used mustn't be confused with changes in climate. They said using models involves uncertainties. "There could be an effect but it's impossible to say for sure," says Julian Heming of Britain's meteorological office.