CLIMATE CHANGE IS WORSENING SOME TYPES OF NATURAL DISASTERS

_Elsa_

‘Sweltering heatwaves, torrential downpours, smoky skies, and toxic water. Many natural disasters are becoming more dangerous due partly to climate change, and their far-reaching impacts have negatively affected people and wildlife across the United States. 

Today, there is near universal consensus among the world’s scientists that human activity is causing climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cautions that global greenhouse gas emissions should be cut in half by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by mid-century in order to avert the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Climate change in combination with other factors is putting at least one million plant and animal species at risk of extinction around the world. 

We are running out of time - already average global temperatures are 1.8°F hotter today than they were before the industrial revolution. Studies show that many different ecological processes such as food webs and species distribution are already being affected by this rise in temperature.  And, warmer global temperatures are bringing about other climatic changes that can fuel and amplify natural disasters, posing additional threats to wildlife and people alike. 

HURRICANES - The energy that feeds hurricanes comes from warm water, and climate change is causing ocean temperatures to increase. The wind damage from hurricanes increases exponentially, so even a seemingly small boost in strength can dramatically increase damage. A Category 4 (130-156 mph) storm can deliver 250 times the wind damage of a Category 1 (74-95 mph) storm. 

Also, in general, as sea surface temperatures and air temperatures rise, more ocean water evaporates into the atmosphere. The buildup of air moisture contributes to an increase in extreme rainfall. For every 1.8°F increase in global temperatures there is a seven percent increase in the moisture-holding capacity of the atmosphere. Warm water and warm air contributed to the massive rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, which dropped 27 trillion gallons of rain over Texas and Louisiana in 2017 and became the second most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. 

Compounding these phenomena, sea level rise creates both an elevated launch pad for storm surge and also forms an additional barrier to (backs up) water emptying from rivers into the ocean. Sea levels are rising from thermal expansion (as sea water warms it expands) as well as from melting glaciers, polar ice caps, and the great ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. (Source) 

Let’s continue - How can climate change affect natural disasters?

Start at the beginning – Here comes Hurricane Elsa!