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 >
Climate Change: Its Effects on Life
The earth's shift in climate has caused our health and infrastructure to struggle. Due to the increase in temperatures, our atmosphere gets warmer and warmer, causing smog in polluted regions. Smog can cause irritations in the respiratory system, such as harmful effects on lungs and asthma attacks. As wildfires increase due to climate change, the air continues to degrade at pace more rapid than usual. Warm water also encourages bacteria to thrive and cause disease. Finally, heat waves strike violently, causing more death in extreme environments. Worldwide, agriculture continues to waver due to the shift in weather patterns and wavering water sources. Extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts cause problems in modern structures and affects our communication and development. Not only does global warming affect humans, but all different types of animals are harmed as well. As the Artic ice is disappearing, the animals who live there are having to find a new habitat. This causes them to have to adapt to environments they physically cannot thrive in, and be exposed to foreign bacteria which can harm them. Within the ocean's changing temperatures, the algae that nourish coral reefs stressfully react to the heat. The algae leave, causing the coral to starve, and the disruption the ecosystem. Around forests, milder temperatures in the winter in addition to longer summers enable plant- killing bacteria to prosper. This causes a disruption in the entire ecosystem and the food chain as well.