Global Warming Effects on Hurricanes Essay

Global warming will lead to a sharp increase in the number of devastating hurricanes, severe floods and droughts especially in areas with high population density, and located on the shores of the oceans, seas and rivers. The only way out is preventive measures when it comes to natural disasters and mitigation actions of their consequences.

Over the past two decades, the number and magnitude of hurricanes throughout the planet noticeably increased. And this trend is true not only for regions with a traditionally high level of hurricane hazard, but also for those parts of the world, where this kind of natural disasters is rare.

Nowadays, the term “climate change” for various reasons has become synonymous with the concept of “global warming”. Meanwhile, climate change is an objective phenomenon expressed by fixed climate fluctuations with respect to certain interval changes according to the frequency and magnitude of extreme events, i.e. natural disasters. Thus, it is viewed that “hurricane translation and size also contribute” (Holland, 2012, p. 19513) to the degree of complexity of different hurricanes. As a matter of fact, it is clear that global climate is changing and the main change is just global warming. The question arises: what caused global warming and how is it dangerous to humanity? 

Hence, this paper aims to use scientific literature to critically evaluate global warming and its effects on hurricanes based on current scientific literature and studies. In recent years, an increasing number of academic scholars and specialists in the study of climate change, prone to argue that frequent and more powerful hurricanes are not just linked to global warming, but also directly caused by this process. In this case, it is possible to mention about Hurricane Patricia that “…became the strongest storm ever measured on the planet early Friday, with experts warning it could trigger 40-foot waves along southwestern Mexico and “life-threatening” flash flooding” (Cumming & Johnson, 2015, para. 1). The situation is that hurricanes often originate on the ocean surface when the water evaporates from the water surface in the form of vapor rises into the higher layers of the atmosphere. This mass of water having a high temperature at a certain height is mixed with cold air masses, as the higher layer of the atmosphere from the earth and the water surface, the lower the temperature.

Active mixing cool air and warm atomized water mass and is an ideal condition for the emergence of a storm front, which turns into a hurricane, moving with great energy that comes from the hot water of the oceans, seas, freshwater reservoirs, and partial evaporation in the process of human activity. In conditions of global warming, the sea level is higher, as well as the water temperature rises above. These circumstances lead to greater evaporation of warm water, which means a greater release of energy. In this case, the increase of energy leads to the more frequent occurrence of hurricanes and storm fronts. Since “global warming yields an eastward extension of the development region of tropical storms” (Haarsma et. al., 2013, p. 1787), hurricanes often form over warm ocean waters, but the conditions for their appearance may well emerge in the atmosphere over the land. The fact is that the winds are constantly moving air masses above the Earth’s surface, including cyclones, i.e. accumulation of evaporated water from the oceans to continental areas. If such relatively cold air masses are mixed with warm air fronts, it often also leads to the formation of hurricanes. In this connection, Emanuel (2011) claimed that “while the global frequency of tropical cyclones is likely to diminish, the frequency of high-intensity events will probably increase as the planet continues to warm (p. 262). As a result, hurricanes are emerged from the huge “pool” of warm water that are on the surface of the ocean. The formation of the storm takes a few days. While the wind begins to “tighten” the funnel of the storm, the hurricane picks up heat from the ocean and uses it as fuel. Besides, sometimes the hurricane on the mainland does not require the oceanic cyclone. If the temperature is high enough, it is possible that fresh-water evaporation will be so intense that it can give rise to a certain localized area rather a powerful hurricane.

All the above-mentioned information leads to the fact that intense “tropical cyclone activity is “likely” to increase with projected impacts such as damage to crops, damage to coral reefs, power outages, disruption of public water supply, increased risk of water borne diseases, floods, high winds and loss of property” (Chew-Hung, 2010, p. 62). These activities include: land use restrictions in areas of frequent passage of hurricanes; limiting the placement of hazardous production facilities; reduction in the volume of reserves and storage time in factories and warehouses (fire, hazardous chemical substances); dismantling some obsolete or unstable buildings and structures; felling of old, rotten trees; strengthening of industrial, residential and other buildings, and “emergency preparation (e.g., buying water, food, batteries, filling gas tanks, securing outside of the residence, etc.)” (Stein et. al., 2014, p. 460).

Overall, the results of the scientific literature reviewed demonstrated that over the past two decades, the number of hurricanes throughout the planet has noticeably increased. Frequent and more powerful hurricanes are not only linked to global warming, but also are directly caused by this process. As a result, all the legal authorities should take all the possible efforts to deal with this huge challenge.

References

Chew-Hung, C. (2010). The Impact Of Global Warming On Storms And Storm Preparedness In Southeast Asia. Kajian Malaysia, 28 (1), 53-82.

Cumming, J. & Johnson, A. (2015). Hurricane Patricia: Strongest Storm Ever Measured to Hit Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/hurricane-patricia-strongest-storm-ever-measured-hit-mexico-n449731.

Emanuel, K. (2011). Global Warming Effects on U.S. Hurricane Damage. American Meteorological Society, 3, 261-268.

Haarsma, J. R., et. al. (2013). More hurricanes to hit Western Europe due to global warming. Geophysical research letters, 40, 1783–1788.

Holland, G. J. (2012). Hurricanes and rising global temperatures. PNAS, 109 (48), 19513–19514.

Stein, R. et. al. (2014). The Private and Social Benefits of Preparing For Natural Disasters. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 32 (3), 459-483.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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