Temperatures: Hurricanes And Climate Change

Within the past year, several violent hurricanes have swept through the United States’ coastlines. Hurricanes are becoming increasingly larger in size and strength over the past one-hundred years. Why is this happening? These monstrous storms occur due to burgeoning amounts of carbon dioxide being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere; what scientists refer to as climate change. Climate change has caused the Earth’s average temperatures to rise over the past several years. These rising temperatures drive many natural disasters; including hurricanes. Historically, hurricanes and other tropical storms are the most dangerous, deadly, and costly natural disasters. Temperatures are hypothesized to continue to rise, causing lethal storms to occur due

Furthermore, climate change results in increasingly extreme hurricanes, which causes detrimental flooding, and is also damaging to the economy in the United States. Temperatures are the highest they have been in over three million years; these temperatures are projected to continue to climb over the next several years (Weeks). What does this have to do with hurricanes? There are many ways that climate change effects the intensity of hurricanes. The first key factor is the higher temperatures that cause the ocean to get warmer. “Hurricanes require high humidity, relatively constant winds at different altitudes, and can occur when surface ocean temperatures exceed about 79°F (26°C)” (Hurricanes and Climate Change). The rising temperatures due to climate change in the atmosphere are causing the ocean’s temperature to increase, therefore, the ocean temperatures are becoming too warm and result in catastrophic hurricanes. Another factor is that warm air holds more water vapor than cold air. “The rising air temperatures since the 1970s

These massive hurricanes created by climate change are becoming increasingly destructive thus causing extensive damage to dwellings, roads, buildings, etc. The United States is already debt-ridden, and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, have a negative economic impact, significantly increasing U.S. financial woes. Natural disasters can be costly, last year cost estimates were 306 billion dollars in total damage. In the past thirty years, tropical storms have cost 562.8 billion dollars alone (Marshall). Hurricanes are the most catastrophic and expensive natural disaster by economic measurement. Because there are larger and more brutal hurricanes occurring due to climate change, the United States and its citizens will spend a fortune to rebuild and repair. In fact, this will increase government spending and debt load, and similarly, people affected by the hurricanes will have to deal with the financial burden of recovering from these epic disasters. Unfortunately, it is the poor and those living in poverty who will need the most help. Many people do not have the resources to flee their homes, “Some people have cars, and money for gas, motels, meals, pet food. Other people don't. It's hard to imagine how vast a sum $50 can seem if you've never been short $50” (The Cost of). People living in poverty struggle every day to meet their essential needs. If people lack