The year 2024 has been one of the most impactful hurricane seasons in terms of both activity and damage thanks to climate change. While there is no exact number yet, hurricane damage is already likely to cost the United States over 100 billion dollars.
All of the hurricanes in 2024 had something in common; they were all fueled by warmer waters created by climate change. There is no better example of climate change than Hurricane Milton which went from a Category 1 Hurricane to Category 5 in less than a 24-hour period.
This was only possible because the water was abnormally warmer for this time of the year. According to the World Weather Attribution, climate change made winds 10% stronger and rainfall greater by 20-30%.
As the world continues to warm up, the greater the impact hurricanes will have on the economy, and more importantly, human life.
How Do Hurricanes Form?
Forecasting allows us to prepare for a hurricane’s arrival, and over the years, forecasts have become extremely accurate. This is because we understand exactly what conditions are necessary for a hurricane to form.
That said, pathing a storm is an entirely different thing, which is where a lot of the frustration lies with forecasters.
Hurricanes form when humid air flows upwards in a low-pressure zone over warm water. This will generate clouds that turn into powerful storm clouds. As they rise, the air begins to rotate from right to left due to the Coriolis effect.
This is the start of a hurricane, and it will continue to grow in size or maintain its current size as long as there is a constant supply of warm water. Warm water acts as fuel for the hurricane, which is why hurricanes weaken as they make landfall.
Once they hit land, they lose access to their fuel source.
How Does Climate Change Impact Hurricanes?
Since warm water acts as the fuel of a hurricane, climate change has a direct impact when it comes to their formation. Climate change is causing the world to get warmer, which by extension is creating more warm water, and pockets of water much warmer than normal.
This creates more fuel to aid in the formation of hurricanes, more fuel to help them rapidly intensify, and more fuel to maintain that level of intensity. Simply put, the warmer temperatures from climate change allow them to form more often and become more powerful.
However, while many think of hurricanes as just swirls of intense wind, the real threat is the storm surge.
Storm surge is created by the force of the wind pressing down against the ocean underneath it. The stronger the winds, and the lower pressure, the stronger the storm surge. In extreme cases, a shoreline could face 15-25 feet of storm surge.
Climate change has made coastal areas that regularly face hurricanes far more susceptible to storm surges due to the rising water levels. Climate change is causing the ocean to rise because it is melting glacial ice sheets.
That water is returning to the ocean causing sea levels to rise. Since 1880 the global sea level has risen by 8-9 inches. While this might not sound like a lot, for coastal regions, this is the difference between your home flooding or not.
The higher water level makes it easy for storm surges to be more impactful and reach further inland. And as the temperature continues to rise, the melting of ice sheets will only intensify causing the problem to be more severe.
Is Hurricane Season Getting Longer?
While officially, hurricane season remains the same length (June 1st through November 30th), there is no denying that major storms are forming before and after the season ends, and that is expected to continue due to climate change.
Over the last eight years, seven years had named storms formed before the beginning of hurricane season (June 1st).
As stated earlier, climate change is causing waters to warm faster and remain at higher temperatures for longer durations. This translates into hurricanes being able to form earlier than normal because warm water is available.
Decades ago, the water would have been too cool for major storms to form, and the water temperature needed to be at least 80F.
Climate Action Is Needed Today to Prevent Catastrophe
It is clear and without question that climate change poses one of the biggest threats to humanity. Action today can save lives and billions of dollars in preventable damage to coastal infrastructure.
Unfortunately, the world is currently not on track to limit global warming to 1.5C.
In fact, it is far worse than most think. If current climate pledges were carried out, emissions would only drop by 10% by 2030. And in many cases, many countries have not even created a plan to do so.
However, the reality of the situation is that emissions are still rising. Fossil fuel production is higher than it has ever been with energy usage at an all-time high. Even as renewable energy generates more electricity, the overall demand is too high.
And as technology continues to evolve, that energy demand will continue to evolve. Look no further than AI. One question on ChatGPT uses the same amount of energy at 10 Google searches.
With every company racing towards integrating AI into its existing systems, that demand is going to balloon to unfathomable heights.
A nasty hurricane is going to be the least of our worries if climate change persists.
Here are some ways you can help:
Buy Environmentally Friendly Products
When shopping, we need to be more mindful of what we are purchasing. Many products today have labels that can help identify more environmentally friendly products. Amazon actually has an entire section dedicated to these types of products.
What to look for depends entirely on the product type you are trying to purchase.
For example, if you are purchasing an appliance that uses electricity like a Washer & Dryer, you should be on the lookout for an Energy Star certification. This tells you that the product will use less energy than similar appliances.
In a different case, let’s say you were purchasing groceries. You should be on the lookout for the USDA Organic label. This indicates that the vegetables or fruit were grown using environmentally friendly practices.
That said, it is also worth considering where something comes from.
Buying goods that were locally sourced will outweigh anything, and the emissions from transport are negligible. If we vote with our wallets, more companies will make changes to qualify for these types of labels.
Recycle
Recycling is the process of breaking down existing products into their base materials so they can be used again.
Most commonly we recycle metals, plastics, and paper goods. Unfortunately, we are all guilty of not separating or garbage and recycling things we can. If we take the extra effort, it will make a massive difference.
However, it is important to point out that just sorting the goods is sometimes not enough. The truth is that many items that can be recycled are not because they are still dirty and could risk contamination.
In fact, one in four items recycled is discarded because of contamination. One of the biggest culprits is food contamination.
If you order out a lot, odds are you are receiving a ton of packaging materials to store your food during transport. If you finish your meal and toss them into the recycling bin, you are part of the problem.
In many cases, these containers need to be rinsed out to properly be recycled. Refer to your local recycling center for more information.
Conserve on Power
Power demand is a huge factor when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. And while truthfully the average household is not a huge contributor, when you have billions of them, it begins to add up.
That said, in many cases, households can lower their average by 10 to 30% by following some simple tips.
First and foremost, if you are not using a device, turn it off. Let me say that again, if you are not using a device, turn it off, and do not leave it in rest mode. Rest mode only puts the device in a low power state, but still draws power.
In many cases, you may also want to consider unplugging the device entirely. Devices can still draw electricity when off, which is often referred to as a phantom load. If you are not going to use the device again on that day, unplugging it can help.
Another huge factor is controlling the thermostat. Air conditioning and heating make up a massive part of most household’s electricity usage. Avoid putting the thermostat too low or too high can save you a lot every month.
Everyone Needs to Do Their Part
Climate Change is having a massive impact on hurricane development. And while data suggests we are not on the right track, it doesn’t mean we can’t turn it around. As more people become more climate conscious we can have a positive impact.
That said, we really need governments to step up and start regulating businesses to enforce green practices. Without that, we are headed in a very dark direction for humanity.
