Why Have There Been so Many Extreme Weather Events Recently?

Extreme Weather on the Rise

You may have noticed the rise of extreme weather events in recent years and started wondering what’s happening. Well, you’re not imagining it. There has been a recent uptick in the number of droughts, wildfires, floods, cyclones, and much more over the last twenty years. From 1980-1999, Earth experienced 4,212 natural disasters, which resulted in 1.19 million deaths and $1.63 trillion in damages. In comparison, the next twenty years, 2000 to 2019 contained 7,348 natural disasters, causing 1.23 million people and creating $2.97 trillion in economic losses. There is one simple explanation for this trend–climate change. Since the industrial revolution, our species has been steadily pumping more and more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. These greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere produce the greenhouse effect, which is the process by which these gasses rise and start to “blanket” the Earth, preventing infrared radiation from the Sun from escaping the Earth after entering. 

Driven by Climate Change

Climate change spurs on many different types of extreme weather events, including heat waves, wildfires, droughts, cyclones, precipitation, and flooding. Heat waves are probably the most self-explanatory of this list. Since greenhouse gasses trap heat closer to the surface of the Earth, it’s inevitable that some areas will experience hotter weather. In addition, marine heat waves occur as well, which can be extremely damaging to organisms like coral which need a very specific temperature in order to thrive. This heat also dries up vegetation which can act as kindling, increasing the risk of wildfires. It also ensures that once a wildfire has started, it’ll be especially hard to manage because of the fuel helping the fire spread faster. The combination of heat and dryness can also lead to drought. This is because the heat leads to faster evaporation of water which then turns into water vapor in the atmosphere. Since warmer air can hold a lot more water than cooler air, it just leads to a positive feedback loop which leads to even more evaporation, and in turn, more drought. Tropical cyclones are created as a result of greater moisture in the air, which leads to heavier precipitation. This heavy precipitation can come in the form of rainfall, snowfall, or hail. In turn, floods have a high likelihood of happening from the combination of the precipitation and also the increased rate of ice melt from the temperature rise. 

Extreme Weather's Toll on Health

These sorts of weather events can cause a worsening of health in every possible sense, from wounding people to giving them heatstroke. Storms like hurricanes have the ability to carry debris, chemicals, and disease to the people being hit by the storm, leaving many injured or ill. Floods can cause housing displacement and can bring disease-causing bacteria into contact with humans. The aftermath of flooding can also cause mold growth, the spores of which cause irritation to humans and have the potential to worsen lung diseases. Smoke from wildfires spreads throughout surrounding areas and causes lung and heart issues. If the wildfire spreads to urban areas, the smoke could be toxic. Also, being forced to stay inside due to wildfires could worsen mental health. Effects of heatwaves include heat cramps, exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death in the most extreme cases. Many of these extreme weather events can also worsen chronic illness or flare up other conditions. 

Possible Solutions

Climate change is slowly leading to the decline of public health. Going into the future, we need ways to prevent these extreme weather events from happening as frequently as they do right now. First, we can take advantage of this extreme weather and use it for research about prevention in the future. So far, ideas for temporary solutions include building seawalls, harvesting rainwater, and weatherproofing energy grids. However, the most permanent and effective way to solve this problem would be addressing the root cause- greenhouse gasses. Cutting down greenhouse gasses is the key to solving climate change, and in turn protecting the health of our species. 

References

“Extreme Weather Events Have Increased Significantly in the Last 20 Years.” Yale E360, 13 Oct. 2020, e360.yale.edu/digest/extreme-weather-events-have-increased-significantly-in-the-last-20-years. 

“Extreme Weather - NASA Science.” NASA, NASA, science.nasa.gov/climate-change/extreme-weather/. Accessed 8 July 2024. 

“What Is the Greenhouse Effect? - NASA Science.” NASA, NASA, science.nasa.gov/climate-change/faq/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/. Accessed 8 July 2024. 

“Health Impacts of Extreme Weather.” National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 12 June 2024, www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/climatechange/health_impacts/weather_related_morbidity#:~:text=Extreme%20Weather%20Events%20Can%20Affect,as%20drowning%20in%20a%20flood.