Global Warming Effects on Hurricane Intensity

Hurricanes have been impacting the Earth and threatening survival for many centuries. In recent years, the world has seen a dramatic increase of hurricane intensity. Science has provided more evidence to show that the climate change is causing these already strong storms to be even stronger. The continuing increase of temperature on Earth is warming up our oceans, and as a result brewing more intense, destructive hurricanes that are wreaking havoc on Earth.

Even though evidence is mounting to prove them wrong, skeptics argue that hurricanes appear to be more intense now than in the past because more people are living near the Atlantic and Gulf coasts (Bailey). Even though this rise in population in hurricane areas is true, the areas themselves have always been there. This is like arguing that the California wildfires would not be a problem if no one lived in California. Destruction is destruction no matter how you look at it. The land and wildlife that live in these areas would still be destroyed, even though there would be minimal property damage and deaths. Would these skeptics prefer that people leave their homes and move to areas where hurricanes usually do not occur? We should help reduce the impact of global warming instead of ignoring the problem at hand.

Most people are not well informed when it comes to hurricanes, and for this reason are unaware of the impact that the climate change has on the storms. There are seven hurricane regions: Western North Pacific, Eastern North Pacific, Atlantic, Southwest Indian Ocean, North Indian Ocean, Southeast Indian Ocean, and the Southwest Pacific Ocean. The most important thing to know about hurricanes is the conditions in which they are created and exist. The ocean water must be eighty degrees Fahrenheit or warmer and a hurricane must form at least three hundred miles from the equator. The atmosphere must quickly cool as altitude increases and there must be an upper atmosphere high-pressure area above the storm. A tropical storm is named a hurricane when winds reach seventy-four miles per hour. The classification system of hurricanes is as follows: Category One hurricane when winds are seventy-four to ninety-five miles per hour; Category Two when winds are ninety-six to one hundred ten mph; Category Three when winds are one hundred eleven to one hundred thirty mph; Category Four when winds are one hundred thirty-one to one hundred fifty-five mph; and a Category Five hurricane occurs when winds reach one hundred fifty-six mph (Leaman 11-13, 16).

An increase in temperature of one degree Celsius of our oceans can make hurricanes even more devastating. For every increase in surface temperature of the Atlantic of one degree Celsius, rainfall from a tropical storm increases six to eighteen percent and wind speeds of hurricanes increase by up to eight percent (Begley). Since 1970, average ocean surface temperatures along with global air temperatures worldwide have risen about one degree Fahrenheit. When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, the Gulf of Mexico's water temperature was about five degrees above normal. What's worse is that when ocean temperatures rise, the amount of water vapor in the air increases as well. The moist atmosphere allows storms to produce more rain and drives the convection that causes hurricanes to spin (Kluger). As we cause the Earth to warm even more, these storms are only going to grow more intense and more deadly.

Global warming also causes sea levels to rise, which in turn causes stronger storm surges. The warmer climate melts the glaciers of the Earth causing them to turn into water. The water from the melted glaciers then adds to other bodies of water and as a result causes sea level to rise. Rising sea levels mean greater storm surges during a hurricane. Strong storm surges increase flooding and possible storm damage along the coasts. Heavy rains occur during strong storm surges and increases flooding. The warming temperatures heat up the ocean the first one thousand five hundred feet below the surface and cause the oceans to expand. Expanding oceans combined with melting glaciers have caused sea levels to rise more than one inch over the last decade ("Hurricanes"). Storm surge flooding from hurricanes are responsible for major damages and ninety percent of the deaths caused by hurricane landfall ("Hurricane Storm Surge").

The Greenhouse effect is a major element of global warming and plays a large role in increasing the intensity of hurricanes. According to American professor of meteorology, Kerry Emanuel who is an expert in his field and wrote the book

Divine Wind, the greenhouse effect traps heat energy in the ocean and "sets the stage for the meteorological explosion that is the hurricane" (23). Increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere heats the oceans and increases the intensity of hurricanes (Emanuel 256). Hurricanes are even causing more carbon dioxide to be released, thus feeding the cycle further. Carbon dioxide, a known factor for increasing temperatures, does not stay in the atmosphere. Some of it is released with rain and falls into our oceans. When a hurricane disrupts the oceans, it causes CO2 to be released. The released CO2 is then sent back into the sky where it joins the warming cycle all over again (Kluger).

Studies have been conducted and research has been done to prove that there is a link between the Greenhouse effect and hurricane intensity. James Elsner of Florida State University in Tallahassee provided evidence that supports the link between atmosphere warming caused mostly by greenhouse gases and the increase of intensity in hurricanes. Elsner examined the connection between global near-surface air temperature and sea surface temperature of the Atlantic and compared the two against hurricane intensities over the past fifty years. He concluded that average air temperatures during hurricane season can help predict sea surface temperatures that feed hurricane winds. Elsner believes that "...future hurricane hazard mitigation efforts should reflect that hurricane damage will continue to increase, in part, due to greenhouse warming" ("Establishing a Connection"). The Greenhouse effect is the biggest contributing factor to global warming.

Global warming is causing category four and five hurricanes to occur more frequently than in the past. A team of scientists published a study that surveyed hurricane frequency and intensity over the past thirty five years. The study showed that the number of Category one, two, and three hurricanes has decreased slightly, but the number of Categories four and five storms has increased substantially. In the 1970s, Category four and five storms occurred on average ten times worldwide. Since 1990, the average has increased to eighteen a year. Category four and five storms once represented twenty percent of storms around the globe, but now they represent thirty-five percent of all storms (Kluger). This study proves that hurricanes are becoming more intense over the years.

Hurricane Season 2005 was one of the deadliest seasons ever because of global warming. There were twenty-seven named storms, fourteen of which became hurricanes. Out of the fourteen hurricanes, seven were classified as Categories three to five, three of which were Category five (Leaman). The American Red Cross states that "millions of lives were impacted by the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season - it was the 'worst case scenario' for the United States" ("Facing"). The most memorable hurricane of the season was Hurricane Katrina (Leaman).

Hurricane Katrina would not have been as devastating if the temperature of the Earth wasn't above normal. It is considered the third deadliest storm ever with a death toll of more than one thousand eight hundred (Leaman). Not only did Katrina take many lives and left many still missing, it caused more than one hundred twenty-five billion dollars in damages and displaced more than two hundred and fifty people. Katrina would not have become a major hurricane if an upper level anticyclone and warm sea temperatures were not present to make the storm stronger. The Gulf of Mexico was one to two degrees Celsius above normal (United States). Those affected, that are alive three years later, are still recovering. Most people lost everything that they have and are trying to rebuild their homes and their lives. The American Red Cross adds a silver lining to the cloud that was hurricane Katrina: "The real story is told in the faces of those individuals who weathered these monster storms and survived as well as those who reached out to them offering a lifeline-lives touching lives, neighbors helping neighbors" ("Facing").

When people think of the climate crisis, they think of the ice caps melting and the polar bears becoming extinct, but it is so much more than that. These are the issues that the media advertises to us daily. However, the climate crisis is impacting every aspect of life as we know it. Even though we do not want the ice caps to melt or the polar bears to die, we also need to acknowledge a major issue that is having an immediate impact on everyone across the world, and if we do not take action, will continue to be a threat. Hurricanes are natural disasters that mankind cannot prevent. However, we can work to lessen the strength of the hurricane in most cases. It is important that we rally together to reduce the controllable factors that warm the earth so future generations can have a better tomorrow than we have today.

WORKS CITED

Bailey, Ronald. "Hurricanes and Global Warming Bad Blow." Audubon May-June 2008: 8, 24.

Begley, Sharon. "Global Warming Is a Cause of This Year's Extreme Weather." Newsweek 152.1/2 (07 July 2008): 52-Globa. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. USC Upstate Lib., Spartanburg, SC. 22 Nov. 2008 .

Emanuel, Kerry. Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes. New York: Oxford, 2005.

"Establishing a Connection Between Global Warming and Hurricane Intensity." Space Daily. (August 10, 2006): NA. General OneFile. Gale. USC Upstate Library. 11 Nov. 2008 .

"Facing a Record-Breaking Hurricane Season." American Red Cross. 1 Dec 2008. < https://americanredcross.org/news/ds/hurricanes/2005/index.html>

"Hurricanes and Climate Change." Union of Concerned Scientists. 3 Dec. 2008.

"Hurricane Katrina."HHS. 28 Nov. 2008.

"Hurricane Storm Surge." Hurricane Track. 4 Dec. 2008 < http://hurricanetrack.com/surge.html>

Kluger, Jeffrey. "Global Warming: The Culprit? Evidence Mounts That Human Activity is Helping Fuel These Monster Hurricanes." Time. 166.14 (Oct 3, 2005): 42. General OneFile. Gale. USC Upstate Library. 11 Nov. 2008 .

Leaman, Rebecca, ed. Hurricanes What You Need to Know. Canada: Goose Lane Editions, 2006.

United States. Dept. of Commerce. Hurricane Katrina A Climatological Perspective. Oct. 2005. Nov. 30