THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, June 25, 2024, PAGE 21
How climate change provides power-ups for hurricanes By JERVON SANDS
THE projections for this year’s hurricane season offer the greatest evidence thus far that climate change significantly influences the frequency, intensity and density of storms. Some researchers are reporting the possibility of 33 named storms and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projects 8 to 13 hurricanes, with 4 to 7 of those being category 3 or stronger. The Bahamas contends with a continuous struggle to manage serious storms that cause immense loss and damage. Therefore, it is important to understand the correlation between hurricanes and climate change. Hurricanes have humble beginnings. They start off as a thunderstorm cloud that joins up with its peers to play ring games around an area of low atmospheric pressure called a tropical depression. A combination of warm tropical ocean waters and warm moist air energises these rotating clouds until they become a single tropical storm with winds over 39mph. The more humid air that flows upward at low pressure zones over warm waters the stronger these storms become. Eventually they earn the title of hurricane, typhoon or cyclone depending on which part of the globe they occur in. The greenhouse effect is the trapping of solar heat inside of earth’s atmosphere which causes global warming. This results in a continuously warming world, a reality
JERVON SANDS we now know as climate change. Near the start of last year’s hurricane season marked the beginning of a new trend where record-breaking high temperatures have become a monthly occurrence. This all translates to hot ocean waters and hot, humid air currents that provide a greater capacity for energising thunderstorms into tropical storms into hurricanes into catastrophic events akin to hurricane Dorian. It is obvious then the role climate change plays in catalyzing the unprecedented hurricane seasons we’ve experienced in recent years. But that’s not all. In addition to the destructive winds that can tear buildings apart,
hurricanes also cause serious flooding in low-lying areas. Rising global temperatures cause ocean waters to expand due to melting icecaps. This triggers another climate change impact known as sea level rise which is an enemy of low-lying chains of islands like the Bahamas. In short, climate change will ensure that future hurricanes are inherently stronger. They will have more dangerous floods in their arsenals and come equipped with extended battery packs as a result of high air and ocean temperatures energizing them. Immediate and sustained climate action is crucial for surviving the coming storms.
MAJOR category 5 Hurricane Dorian left catastrophic damage in its wake as it passed over Abaco and Grand Bahama in 2019.