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 >
Hurricanes + Climate Change
This past hurricane season has had some of the worst hurricanes seen in many years. Why were there so many hurricanes? There were so many hurricanes because when water vapor evaporated, it absorbed more heat energy than usual. This heat then built up causing a hurricane. What does an active hurricane season have to do with climate change? The global temperature has gone up 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. As I explained, Hurricanes use heat to "grow" and since the global temperature is increasing, there is a more likely chance of extreme weather. We (US citizens) need to take climate change more seriously so that we can prevent future destruction.
Sources: http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_ca … icanes.htm
Even though I do agree with your statement, there are several other factors that can affect hurricanes also, such as the change in atmospheric temperature with height and not climate change.
P.S. "There is no scientific or statistical evidence whatsoever that supports this claim on a global scale."
I agree with your statement. I saw in the news that hurricanes are getting larger in every year because of the higher temperature all around the world which created by every action in our life. For example, they burn the fossil oil to create energy that uses in the car. This action produces gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. All of this gases go into the atmosphere and become the bigger problem called the greenhouse effect.
I agree with anmairieng. I also think the higher temperature happened because of El Nino which causes forest fires and droughts .
I agree that global warming is impacting hurricanes however I do not think it is necessarily impacting the frequency of hurricanes ,it is just making hurricanes much stronger and more destructive
Source: the Daily podcast (NYT)
Nathan the Daily podcast (NYT) is a conservative branch whos founder does not believe in climate change.
Leif are you sure you are not thinking of someone else? The Daily podcast host is Mike Barbaro. I don't think he is a climate denier?
Also, the relationship between climate change and hurricane frequency is controversial. According to NOAA there is a >50% chance that hurricanes will become more frequent in the future, but that level of confidence is not nearly strong enough to make a definitive statement
https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warmin … urricanes/
I agree! My class and I calculated our carbon footprint and that was the first time I realized how much carbon I am putting into the world. And I didn't even have the highest footprint in my class. Our carbon footprint isn't the only thing contributing to the rise in temperature but it definitely plays a role. I think if we all were just a little more conscious of our footprint it would be a start.