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Environmental Effects Of Droughts

Good Essays

Heat waves everywhere are projected to become more intense and increase in duration. Summer temperatures are predicted to continue to rise, eventually leading to a greater reduction of soil moisture, which then causes the exacerbation of heat waves and a widespread number of droughts (“Global Climate Change: Effects”). Droughts not only have adverse effects on livestock and crops, but droughts also affect water levels on rivers of commerce, such as the Mississippi, which hinders the transportation of goods. Droughts lead to concerns being raised regarding the reliability of electricity production from power plants that require “cooling water to maintain safe operations”, hydroelectric power may also become hard to acquire or simply unavailable during droughts (“Drought and Climate Change”). In countries that are already facing issues of food insecurity, cost spikes associated with a lower availability and abundance of crops could potentially lead to migration, famine, or social unrest.
In the future, climate change may not necessarily lead to more hurricanes, but will most likely cause hurricanes to becomes more intense by causing them to have higher wind speeds and more precipitation. Warm ocean temperature is one of the main factors leading a hurricane’s development to strengthen when overall conditions are conducive for hurricane growth and formation ("Hurricanes and Climate Change"). Warm air can hold a greater amount of water vapor as compared to cold air; rises in air

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