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 >
Extreme Weather- Hurricanes
Hurricanes that being formed now are very much influenced by climate change. Flooding will be more severe because of the rising sea levels caused by melting sea caps. The higher temperatures can also cause heavier rainfall as the warmer air temperatures are, they hold more and more water vapor, which will eventually condense and fall. Hurricanes are spirals that suck in warmer air, and the more warmer air is available, the more the hurricane becomes intensified and spirals even more. Since this warmer air retains moisture (water vapor), the hurricane also contains these high levels of water and during these storms will come intense rainfalls. There may be lesser rainfalls, but these hurricanes will become much more stronger and server, reaching Category 4 or Category 5.