Between June 1 and November 30, all eyes are on the tropics. Not because we’re longing for a vacation, but because it’s hurricane season. Some of these cyclones are devastating. When they approach land, they leave millions of dollars in losses, destroyed cities, and hundreds of families unable to return home.
Why do some hurricane experts want Saharan dust invasions in the Atlantic?
Depending on where they form, they are called hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones. However, Scientists use a more generic name: tropical cyclones. They are large storms that revolve around a large area and need tropical conditions to form, so they originate mainly in the tropics.
Note:
To be called a hurricane, its winds must exceed 120 km/h. However, in this article “hurricanes” will be used as a general term to include tropical storms, which are tropical cyclones with wind intensity less than that of a hurricane.
To form and strengthen, hurricanes need four main ingredients:
- an ocean with warm water
- a lot of humidity in the air
- little or no variation of the wind in the vertical
- a pre-existing disturbance (for example, a cluster of storms)
A hurricane needs all these ingredients to formbut just like when we bake a cookie, the recipe must be perfect.
Changing the amount of any ingredient will make the cookie too flat, too dry, or too crumbly. The same goes for hurricanes.: If any of the four main ingredients are not in the correct amount, the storm does not form or will be different.
Hurricanes of the future (and present)
The scientists use sophisticated climate models and a huge database of observed data to understand what will happen to hurricanes as the planet’s temperatures increase.
More rain
Experts already know that Climate change increases extreme rainfall events. In a warmer world, there is simply more moisture in the air in the form of water vapor. As surface temperatures rise, more liquid water evaporates from land and ocean.
In a hurricane, spiraling winds draw moist air toward the center, fueling the towering storms that surround it.
Evaporation adds moisture to the air, and the amount of water vapor the air can hold depends on its temperature. The warmer it is, the more water vapor it can hold. Increased humidity in the air causes heavier rainfall, especially during extreme events.
More major hurricanes
Most models show that climate change causes a slight increase in the intensity of hurricane winds. This change is likely related to warming ocean temperatures and increased humidity in the air, both of which fuel hurricanes.
In a warmer climate, models do not show marked variation in the number or frequency of hurricanes. However, there is a higher proportion of hurricanes that reach categories 4 and 5. In other words, hurricanes that form are more likely to become more intense.
More coastal flooding
Climate change is causing oceans to warm and glaciers to melt, resulting in rising sea levels. Since 1880, global sea level has risen 20 centimetersand by 2100, it is projected to increase between 30 and 122 centimeters more.
With the impacts of climate change (such as sea level rise) already occurring, the likelihood of a hurricane causing a multibillion-dollar disaster is increasing.
Anyone who has experienced a hurricane or Having seen the images of the affected area, you know how much damage a storm surge can cause to life and property.. Flooding remains one of the biggest concerns when a hurricane hits the coast, and climate change will likely make things worse.
What has happened so far?
Since the 1980s, the hurricane record has shown a more active period in the North Atlantic Ocean. On average, There were more storms, stronger hurricanes, and an increase in rapidly intensifying hurricanes. So far, most of these increases are due to natural climate variations.
However, a recent study suggests that The latest increase in the proportion of North Atlantic hurricanes experiencing rapid intensification is too large to be explained by natural variability alone. This could be the beginning of detecting the impact of climate change on hurricanes, the article states.
Coastal tropical cyclones are intensifying faster in recent years, scientists warn
In contrast, the frequency of landfalling hurricanes in the United States (a subset of North Atlantic hurricanes) has not increased since 1900, despite significant global warming and the warming of the tropical Atlantic Ocean.
News reference:
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/climate-change/a-force-of-nature-hurricanes-in-a-changing-climate/?
