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 >
Increased Hurricanes
Many people recently have noticed that hurricanes have become more and more intense. This change in pattern however is not random or a coincidence at all. It is caused by climate change. These storms are becoming more intense, because the oceans are heating up. When oceans grow warmer, there is more evaporation (such as a pot of boiling water). Therefore, the increased evaporation and moisture in the air creates a space for increased rain (NASA, 2022). With this increased rain, it causes storms to be pulled in, making hurricanes significantly more damaging and risky once they hit land.
source: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3184/a-fo … g-climate/
mehaBOD7
I completely agree that the intensification of hurricanes is a result of climate change. You pointed out that warmer oceans lead to increased evaporation and moisture in the air, resulting in more rainfall and intense storms. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the probability of a hurricane becoming a Category 3 or higher has increased by about 8% per decade over the past 40 years due to human-caused climate change (Emanuel, 2017). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says since the 1980s, there has been an increase in Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin, likely due to warmer ocean temperatures (NOAA, 2021). I believe that it is important that we recognize the role of climate change in the intensification of hurricanes and take action to reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate its effects.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1920849117
https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warmin … urricanes/
I agree with you both. Both of you mentioned how hurricanes are becoming more intense and dangerous. You both pointed out that ocean temperatures are increasing. To add to that, Climate change makes hurricanes more dangerous. Climate change is making flooding and wind damage from hurricanes more common in the U.S. That means dangerous storms are getting more frequent, even though the total number of storms isn't changing (Hersher, 2023). It is important to recognize how hurricanes are not increasing or decreasing in the amount there are, but instead increasing in their intensity. This increase in intensity can cause more damage to the homes, cities, and states they are hitting.
Source:
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/27/1158969044/why-hurricanes-feel-like-theyre-getting-more-frequent#:~:text=Climate%20change%20makes%20hurricanes%20more%20dangerous%20Climate%20change%20is%20making,of%20storms%20isn't%20changing.