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
Extreme weather events that keep occurring in the USA have become quite normal even though it's not considered a typical sight to see. The USA sees these weather phenomena due to many geographical disadvantages; surrounded by two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Pennisula, and the Rocky Mountains. All this creates crashing weather patterns which result in horrible storms. Moreover, the changes in climate have created even more disruption in US weather. Some of the effects of climate change have been Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Flash floods, Droughts, Wildfires, Blizzards, Ice storms, Nor’easters, Lake-effect snow, Heat waves, Severe thunderstorms, Hail, Lightning, Atmospheric rivers, Derechos, Dust storms, monsoons, Bomb cyclones, and the dreaded polar vortex. One example that is the most prevalent in the USA is hurricanes. There has been an increase in hurricanes since the 1980s this includes measures of intensity, frequency, and duration as well as in the number of strongest category storms. This has been happening because of the sea surface temperatures in the region that Atlantic hurricanes form and move through. This is happening due to some factors that influence these local sea surface temperatures, including natural variability, human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases, and particulate pollution. This is not the only factor it also has to do with the atmosphere that has changed too. This change in the atmosphere is due to the pollution that allows more sunlight to warm the ocean and human-caused heat-trapping gases which lead to sea surface temperatures rising.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/wh … tastrophes
https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highli … me-weather