In the Northern Hemisphere in 2017 and 2018 brought several destructive hurricanes to the shores of North America, the Caribbean, and throughout the Pacific rim. Such extreme weather events are predicted to get more common and more severe with increasing climate change.
Several participating classes in the ISCFC were or are in the path of these storms and we hope for the best for them, their families and communities.
We would love to hear from students affected directly and indirectly by extreme weather events, and also any students who have been following the news this summer.
What are your thoughts about the connection between climate change and extreme weather events? Has this hurricane season increased your concern about climate change or not? Do you think that US citizens and residents (and others in the region) will take climate change more seriously now?
Extreme Weather >
What's with the weather?
The weather has changed a lot in the just the last years. 2020 was recorded to be the hottest year all over the world. Why is this happening? Why are we having such extreme weather such as fires and floods? And more importantly how do we stop it? This is causing global warming and I don't know how much long our planet can take it.
Hi! These are some great questions. The extreme weather that we have been experiencing in recent years is actually a result of global warming instead of the other way around. As the entire world warms, even a fraction of a degree can change a lot of things that eventually factor into the extreme weather in a sort of chain reaction. One example of this is the super drought that has been going on in California for years. This drought has dried up California land which makes it much more susceptible to fires, and then those fires make the ground all dried out and less stuck together so when it starts to rain landslides can occur. The warming of the planet is also causing ice and snow to melt off of the land and into the water which is a common cause of floods. The extreme weather that we are experiencing is a symptom of the bigger problem of climate change, so the best thing to do is to try and reduce your carbon footprint as best as you can and spread the word for others to do the same.
A good website that I found with more useful information is:
https://www.c2es.org/content/extreme-we … te-change/
Hello! I think these questions are fantastic questions. The main reason these issues are happening is because of global warming. I think that the main reason we are experiencing these issues is because of global warming and climate change. Many things that occur today include: Land slides, wild fires, and droughts all over the world. In California these things tend to happen pretty often. As of now there is a pretty severe wild fire in New Mexico, this fire is occurring because of the dryness of the grass in that area. This all correlates to global warming, the reason the grass is so dry is because of the increasing temperature of our earth. Main ways we can stop this is by removing dying trees, although trees provide a lot for our environment the ones that are close to dead can ruin our environment. I also agree that people need to make a change and try to diverge from things such as; Gas cars, fossil fuels, removing dead trees, and waste in general. Overall I completely agree with you and I found some sources that might help answer your questions.
https://www.c2es.org/content/wildfires- … te-change/
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101