Essay On Climate Change

In addition, global climate change will exacerbate these challenges faced by countries and populations. Shifting precipitation patterns threaten to reduce water availability in some regions while inflicting stronger storms on others, increasing both potential droughts and floods. This may increase the frequency of more serious

Imagine waking up to a flooded house. Your home, your life, changed over night. This fear is a prominent and existent fear for the natives of the Marshall Islands. “In the heart of the Pacific Ocean halfway between Hawaii and Australia lies one of the most remote inhabited places on the planet. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) consists of 29 coral atolls comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets, distributed across 750,000 square miles of tropical ocean in two nearly parallel chains” (Pacheco). With climate change becoming a bigger issue and ocean levels rising, the Marshallese are slowly watching their homes, passed loved ones, and even agriculture be wiped away by the waves that are sinking their islands. Climate change has

Reports revealed that by 2080s, the projected flood heights for locations in Connecticut (e.g., Norwalk, Westport, Bridgeport, Greenwich Cove, Shippan Point, Stamford, and Stratford) could range from 11.5 to 13 feet for a Category 1 hurricane, and 14.5 to 15.7 feet for a Category 3 storm (Gornitz et al., 2004). Therefore, rising sea level could account for 18-22% of the increase in flood height (in the high sea-level rise scenario) or 6-8% in the lower case (Gornitz et al., 2004). With the rising sea level, floods generated by storms of this magnitude could approach 18 feet by the 2080s (Gornitz et al., 2004). The increase in the projected flood level cities in Connecticut will be greatly affected such as Bridgeport and New Haven. As an illustration, a significant portion of both Bridgeport and New Haven lies within the high-risk flood zone, and during severe storms this place a large population, private property, and infrastructure at high risk. In New Haven, some infrastructures that are at risk include the New Haven railroad station and track yards, the Tweed-New Haven Airport, ramps to the Connecticut

I am from Charlotte, NC where we receive an average amount of rain, nothing too crazy. Coming to school in Norfolk I was first introduced to what flooding actually was. It was beautiful day prior, and suddenly it began pouring down raining. In about 10 minutes the streets were flooded. Staff had to take students to the other side of campus in their own cars. The underpasses were filled with so much water, that no cars could get through. Later on that was when I was informed that Norfolk is below sea level causing it to flood when it rains. Coming from a city where it doesn’t flood, to a city that floods was a shock. Through research I found of what Costal Resilience was, and how other cities are dealing with the same problems the Tidewater District is dealing with. If cities could be better prepared in times of hazardous events, less money would be lost and people wouldn’t relocate.

During the spring and early summers of 2011 and 2014, the Assiniboine River Basin (ARB) in Southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba experienced extreme flood conditions with prolonged duration and severity. This persistence and shortened interval between disasters caused concerns about the impacts of climate change in the region (Brimelow, 2015). The interactions between the Atmosphere, Geosphere, Hydrosphere, and lastly Biosphere all contributed to the events that took place during the specified flood years. I will look to address the intertwined relationship between these four spheres, and conclude with possible mitigation strategies that provinces and municipalities are likely to invest in as anthropogenic change is inevitably shortening the

The watershed model is used to develop projections of peak stream flows and water surface (flood)

Climate change was blamed for risen in temperature by half a degree, producing more vapor which results in heavy rainfall in 2010 in Brisbane. The Burnett River and Fitzroy River were exceedingly bad hit on 28th and 29th December 2010, when the stream level rose to more than eighteen meters. Author was discussed that flooding proceeded into January 2011, turning out to be more terrible in Brisbane and damages came around 2.38 billion AUS dollars. Flood again hit the area in 2013 (Davies 2013).

The resiliency of the impacted community can be improved by creating more areas for flood waters to be contained. Urban planners can assess the areas of Houston that were hit by Harvey or that are most vulnerable to flood damage and designate these areas as parks for diverting flood waters rather than rebuilding them. City officials can also limit new infrastructure development in high-risk

Further, analyze and understand the adequacy of the measures taken to adapt future climate change induced hazard risks. I have developed my capacity by doing the Masters’ Degrees in Disaster Management and Emergency Management with a research work.

Since 1900, according to James Gerken, New York City’s average annual temperatures, measured from Central Park, have increased by over 3 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sea levels surrounding the city have risen by over a foot. Resultantly, more extreme precipitation events are expected to occur in the future, such as hurricanes and flooding. The mayor of the city, Bill de Blaiso, announced a sweeping plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, allegedly making neighborhoods safer from disaster. Unfortunately, projections based on current trends suggest that the sea level could rise by an additional 6 feet by 2100 (Gerken, 2015). Thus, nearly 20% of New York’s 469-square-mile land area could have a 1% chance of flooding in any given year.

On July 19-20 2012, Duluth, MN experienced 10 inches of rain which led to one of the worst inland flood events in American history. The St. Louis River rose over 10 feet and caused significant damage to roads, bridges, and private property (Czuba et al. 2012). Erosion carried massive sediment loads into Lake Superior, posing a risk to both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the process. The flash flood shook the community and negatively impacted the environment to such a degree that recovery is still a work in progress. The Solstice Flood, as it is known, forced the community to evaluate its outlook and preparations surrounding natural disasters. As global climate change continues, the frequency and magnitude of events like this are going to increase (IPCC, 2014). Unfortunately, the 2012 Solstice Flood in Duluth is symptomatic of how poorly we as a country, and perhaps as a species, have prepared for disasters that will only be magnified going forward.

Sustainability is based on designing for storms that have already happen. For example, a storm occurs and damage is done to a community. The community then decides to redesign a building that was ruined to withstand the storm that ruined it. This seems as though it could be logical, but it does not consider that the next storm will be greater than the last, as suggested by scientific trends about storm frequency and intensity (Blunden). Thus, it is noted that sustainability is almost solely dependent on historical accounts and records of the previous disasters putting the population, economy, and infrastructure at a deficit when it comes to preparedness for disasters. These issues are evident in FEMA flood mapping. Through the RiskMAP program, they “identify flood hazards, assess flood risks, and provide accurate data to guide stakeholders in taking effective mitigation actions that result in safer and more resilient communities,” (Flood Hazard Mapping…). The agency produces maps to “provide the basis for community floodplain management regulations and flood insurance requirements” based on various factors (Flood Hazard Mapping…). The

Ignorance is something that should be avoided regarding this matter. Know as much as you can when it comes to flooding areas and flood zones and flood coverage and rates.

According to scientific research, the average temperature of the earth has risen by between ten and twenty degrees Celsius (M.L. Weitzman, 2008). These high temperatures could well be described as a ‘recipe for disaster’, and could produce results that would be catastrophic on a global scale. What is more alarming however, is that there is already a lot of evidence of predicted results of climate change, for instance, in Australia especially, severe draughts have been common in farming areas in the last few decades, there has been an increase of intense and extreme weather events, for example floods, flash floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and tornados, almost all of the natural disasters listed have occurred for ‘unknown’ reasons in the past few years. Rises in sea water level and temperature due to higher acid levels caused by global warming, threaten the existence of species and in some areas, entire eco-systems resulting in the loss of natural biodiversity. ‘Climate change is pushing the world to the verge of environmental and economic collapse, whether global deniers want to believe it or not’ (N. Klein, 2011).

Coastal lands, agriculture, weak permafrost, increase in disease, weather patterns, ocean circulation, and biodiversity are few elements affected by this emergency. There is major concern for coastal flooding. IPCC estimates that 43% of coastal wetlands will be asphyxiated, beaches will wear down 100 to 200 ft., and 5,000 square miles will be overwhelmed with sea water. (Greenpeace) In Chesapeake Bay, beaches have already been lost, resulting from more than an inch increase in sea level. Many islands and low surface level countries will be inundated . Millions of people could be affect in Bangladesh, China, and New York due to flooding. Any country with a small economy can suffer greatly being unable to adapt and replenish resources. Pests that use warm weather will have more time to reproduce and feed on infected species, usually passing on infections. Allergens and viruses will be more persistent. Forest fires will increase. An example for agriculture damage is Kansas’ ability to be 4 degrees warmer during winter which is bad news for the winter wheat grown with cold air usually sent southward from the Artic ice. Also, during summer Kansas can lose valuable cropland from soil losing 10 percent of its moisture. (NRDC) Shrinkage in fresh water supply will result in water stress for people that rely on spring water, such as the Himalayans