In the Article, “The Hurricanes, and Climate-Change Questions, Keep Coming. Yes, They’re
Linked.”, Scientists are said to be looking into the links of global warming and the intensity of
hurricanes. The warming ocean temperatures cause hurricanes to gain energy and become
stronger. Storm surges will also become worse due to rising sea levels. Ocean surface temperatures
have risen rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico and this could have caused the intense strengthening of
Hurricane Michael just before it made landfall. Scientist believe that in the following years, we will
see fewer hurricanes than normal, but the ones that do form will be stronger than before.
Scientist Kerry Emanuel explained that the greater the temperature difference between the
ocean and atmosphere, the more energy a storm will collect and eventually release when it makes
landfall. This is caused by rapid evaporation and uplift. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change says that if we do not limit the warming of ocean temperatures to 1.5 degrees celsius, we
may see more precipitation in the future.
When Hurricane Michael made landfall it was predicted that storm surge could reach up to 13
feet of water. Dr. Camargo explains that rising sea levels could cause more damage than the hurricanes themselves. It causes more flooding in coastal areas that experience the storm surges. Sea levels have risen almost 4 inches in the past 40 years and that will increase to almost a foot by the year 2100 (Henry 2018).
I believe that the issues presented in this article are factual. Warmer ocean temperatures allow
for more evaporation. When water vapor evaporates and condenses, it releases latent heat energy
allowing for rapid intensification in hurricanes. This can cause higher winds and more precipitation.
When a hurricane reaches coastal areas, ocean temperatures rise quickly and the hurricane can
pick up massive amounts of energy. Sea levels rising is directly associated with storm surge. As
coastal areas are more covered with water, it has the ability to move further inland and at higher
levels than before.
According to Jon Keeley, wildfires are directly associated to rising global temperatures. With the
land becoming dry due to drought, fires are more easily ignited by dry lightning (Keeley 2016). When
biomass is dry, the fires are spread further and quicker. Annual temperatures in Western US states
have doubled in the past 50 years The sun’s energy dries out forests, especially because these
areas are getting hotter. Greenhouse gases are trapping the shortwave energy from the sun in the
troposphere drying out the forests that are regularly affected by fires.
Although fires are associated with seasonal temperature change, rising temperatures can
cause spring to come earlier, and summer to be hotter. This dries out biomass and can wildfire
season to start earlier, and last longer.
I believe that global warming can cause drastic changes in many natural hazards and we must
work to stop the rising global temperatures. A warming Earth can cause many human related
problems, and we may have the greatest influence on this warming.
Sources
Fountain, Henry. “The Hurricanes, and Climate-Change Questions, Keep Coming. Yes, They're
Linked.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2018,
Keeley, Jon E., and Alexandra D. Syphard. “Climate Change and Future Fire Regimes: Examples
from California.” Geosciences (2076-3263), vol. 6, no. 3, Sept. 2016, pp. 1–14. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.3390/geosciences6030037.
Nesbit, Jeff. “California’s Wildfires Are an Ominous Sign.” U.S. News - The Report, Aug. 2018, pp.
C33–C35. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=asn&AN=131303253&site=ehost-
live&scope=site&custid=s3915793.
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