How Climate Change Affects Superstorms

Superstorms Irma, Harvey, Sandy, and others have been increasingly destructive and these storms have become more frequent. The evidence has been proven by organisations such as NASA and NOAA, and according to this accurate information these storms are likely to increase in frequency and potency. The reasoning behind this is actually not too complex. Changing climates affect the temperature difference between the poles and the equator, creating an overall warmer area. Warmer temperatures increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, erecting more humid and hotter environments. This would mostly affect the areas at the poles, which are cold and dry. This changing atmosphere would drastically increase the temperatures at the poles. However, this smaller difference between temperature in the poles and equator, actually decreases the number of storms, but increases the likelihood of intense storms. This is because, as temperatures increase, so does the amount of water vapor that’s being evaporated into the atmosphere, which in turn fuels storms. These two characteristics, of decreasing temperature difference, and increasing humidity, allow for more intense cycles of flooding and droughts, in which huge amounts of rain, or no precipitation for months, would occur. Wetter and warmer climates also affect tropical storms and some models show that more intense storms and hurricanes would originate from this. The warmer climates also would heat oceans, and the range of hurricanes would increase from this.

The intensity of hurricanes also is affected by global warming. The higher temperatures and humidity provide means for increasing tropical wind speeds. Since 1980, the sea surface temperature has increased by 0.3 degrees celsius, and wind speeds have increased by a little over 1 knot(Kerry Emanuel, MIT). In the end, even if superstorms don’t change intensity significantly, there are certainly other factors that make them more fatal. Global warming causes the increase in the amount of sea ice melting, and therefore sea levels will rise, and flooding in these areas affected by the storms becomes greater. In conclusion, one way or another, Global Warming increases the effect of superstorms, either directly or indirectly, and only with changes in our thought and actions could we change these events.