Climate scientists say the intensity of super typhoon that caused so much death and devastation the Philippines is part of a pattern of more intense storms caused by global warming, in turn blamed on man-made global warming.

“The Philippines is reeling from Typhoon Haiyan.. and is still struggling to recover from a typhoon one year ago,” said World Meteorological Organization chief Michel Jarraud, “Although individual tropical cyclones cannot be directly attributed to climate change, higher sea levels are already making coastal populations more vulnerable to storm surges.”

Tacloban City’s storm surge was three to four meters high, causing thousands of deaths and near total destruction of the area’s infrastructure.

“Typhoons, hurricanes and all tropical storms draw their vast energy from the warmth of the sea.  We know sea-surface temperatures are warming pretty much around the planet, so that's a pretty direct influence of climate change on the nature of the storm,” said Will Steffen, director of the Australian National University climate change institute.

It is the third time that disaster has struck the Philippine archipelago in less than 12 months.  In August, typhoon Trami caused massive flooding on the island of Luzon.  And in December 2012, typhoon Bopha killed up to 2,000 and caused almost A$2 Billion in damage on the island of Mindanao.  The economic impact of Haiyan (called Yolanda in the Philippines) could surpass A$15 Billion.

Australians have already seen the change, having lived through a series of killer, supposedly once-in-a-century disasters that all came within months of each other.

“Surface temperatures are only part of the wider picture of our changing climate. The impact on our water cycle is already becoming apparent - as manifested by droughts, floods and extreme precipitation,” Jarraud warned.