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's role in Hurricane Harvey
Last month in Houston and other parts of Texas, Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on homes, caused dangerous flooding, and created millions of dollars in damage. Though it has been around a month since Harvey hit Texas, the damage will take years to fix, and it should change how we think about climate change’s role in the matter. Climate change is known to increase the possibility of severe storms such as Harvey. Besides the torrential downpour, flooding was one of the biggest issues Houston faced. The flooding caused by Harvey was one of the biggest floods in Houston’s history. The rapid rising water destroyed thousands of homes in the greater Houston area, ruined many cars, and worst of all it claimed many innocent lives. The city is known to flood and has had terrible flooding before, but nothing compared to the flooding caused by this hurricane/tropical storm. The city of Houston received a total of 51.88 inches of rainfall from Harvey. Climate change has a role in this because as the oceans get warmer, the possibility of a large storm increases. As the oceans grow warm er, more water is evaporated into the air. As the evaporated water forms a storm system, it can produce a powerful and intense storm. Though Hurricane Harvey was a devastating natural disaster, maybe we can treat it as a learning experience about how climate change is affecting precipitation today.
Sources:
-http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-harv … d=49529063
-Climate Change Indicators in the United States: 2016 Fourth Edition (EPA)