A super typhoon stronger than the deadly Hurricane Katrina that devastated the southern United States in 2005 could hit Japan in the latter half of this century if global warming continues, according to a study by a Japanese research team made available Monday.

Typhoons packing winds of at least 241.2 kph are often called super typhoons, but the one feared by the researchers could blow as strong as 288 kph on the ground, the team from Nagoya University and the Meteorological Research Institute said.

Several super typhoons may also develop between 2074 and 2087 due to a projected 2-degree rise in sea temperatures in the Western Pacific south of Japan, the study showed, based on a scenario drawn up by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in which average global temperatures will rise about 3 degrees from preindustrial levels by the end of the century.