In a historic development, the Hurricane season of the Atlantic Sea has a record number of named storms this year
A tropical or tropical storm is given a special name when it reaches a speed of 39 mph (63 kmph). And this storm is called hurricane when the wind speed reaches 74 mph (119 kilometers per hour).
Now, if we talk about the year 2020, with Covid calling it the year of storms, it might not be wrong.
In fact, the theta storm that recently hit the Atlantic Ocean is this year’s 29th named cyclone. With this, the Atlantic Hurricane season in 2020 set the record for the most named storms in a year. The previous record was in the year 2005.
So what happened after so many high-speed storms this year?
Scientists are pointing towards climate change and this year it could be a big reason for the large number of storms.
While the number of tropical cyclonic storms in the world has generally remained constant during the last century , the Atlantic Basin has experienced a rise in name-storms since the 1980s.
Some scientists relate the record number of cyclonic storms in the year 2020 to the rise in the temperature of the oceans. The rising temperature of the oceans is actually creating new records every year due to climate change due to harmful activities of humans.
Scientific some also pointed to other reasons, that the long-term increase in the number of short-lived tropical cyclones both due to be that area is. Especially a regional decline in air pollution since the 1980s , which has caused the oceans to warm up and the La Nina weather cycle has been a factor this year.
Now let us take a look at the damage caused by the storms this year:
· Come August landslides in Louisiana due to Hurricane Laura category 4, which killed 77 people and hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes – often. It is estimated that the disaster caused $ 14 billion in damage. More than 6500 people affected by this storm are living in the refugees even after two months.
· Two weeks after Laura, Hurricane Sally collides with Alabama. It also affected Florida , Mississippi and Louisiana. It killed eight people and caused more than $ 5 billion in damage.
· Hurricane was the most powerful storm of the year 2020. After gaining tremendous momentum, it was placed in the fourth category and it was included in the strongest storms in November. It hit areas in Central America , causing at least 130 deaths.
· Some areas of the US were particularly affected. This season, for example, struck five name-storms from Louisiana , a new record. Many of them have come at a difference of barely a few weeks.
While this year the US is suffering from these storms, while in the American continent, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama is also serious damage from these storms.
Hurricanes arriving in the Atlantic are named only when their speeds exceed 39 miles / hour. On reaching this point, they are known as tropical cyclones. When their speeds exceed 74 miles / hour , they are placed in the Hurricane range. Tropical cyclones are a common reference to these powerful storms. In the Atlantic they are known as Hurricanes , but in other places they are called cyclones or typhoons.
In his response, Professor Michael Mann, director of the Earth Systems Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, USA, says, “Our pre-meteorological forecast had predicted that there would be at least 24 named storms in this hurricane season .” Although it was the biggest forecast of its kind, it remained small compared to the reality it encountered. The number of named storms that have come so far has already exceeded the number indicated in the forecast. This increased number is based on the unexpectedly increased heat in the tropical Atlantic (heat generated by human activities is also at least partially responsible for this). There is also a growing possibility of La Nina conditions. “
He adds, ” As we are its soil and tropical Atlantic are going to continue to warm, will that tropical cyclones and hurricanes and powerful. When La Niña conditions are created the effects of climate change are confirmed and we have to face devastating storms. As we are doing right now. ”
On the same subject, Dr. Kevin Trenberth, Senior Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, adds, “Along with global warming caused by human activities, there is more energy available that promotes more intense hurricane activity. It can appear in many ways for the entire season or even as single storms. Larger number , greater intensity , larger , longer life and in all cases the possibility of more rain and flood. The number of hurricane named hurricanes in the Atlantic in the year 2020 is extraordinary. All storm evaporated tend to absorb heat from the sea as the cooling, which provides energy to storm through latent heating and very large and leave a clear cold wake behind them to block the coming storms intense storms since, The cyclones’ ability to find the Virgin Ocean increases their chances of moving forward. “
“There could be a drop in emissions due to anthropogenic aerosols during the years 1980-2020 , ” says Hiroyuki Murakami, a project scientist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and NOAA’s Geophysical Fluids Dynamics Laboratory. The Atlantic hurricane has been trending steadily. Due to the steps taken for pollution control, due to the fall in particulate pollution, the oceans absorb more amount of sunlight , which has increased their temperature. Tropical cyclonic activity has increased due to this local warming in the North Atlantic for the last 40 years. One reason may be that hurricane was relatively inactive in the North Atlantic during the 1980s and 1990s. This was due to major volcanic eruptions in El Chichok, Mexico in 1982 and Pinatubo, Philippines in 1991. Because of this, the atmosphere in the northern hemisphere cooled down. Since the year 2000, ocean warming has resumed since 2000, due to the resurgence of hurricane activity in the North Atlantic. “
He further gives another reason and says, “La Nina’s situation has developed in the summer of 2020. This La Niña condition in the tropical Pacific affected large-scale circulation from afar, leading to active hurricane season in the North Atlantic. “
If they believe, the first and second factors they say are related to long-term climate change , while the third factor is related to internal variability.
Says Dr. Hiroyuki Murakami, “I speculate that the active 2020 hurricane season was a combination of long-term climate change and internal variability. “
Further, Carey Emmanuel, professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stated, ” Since the early 1980s , Atlantic has been a disproportionately upward trend in all metrics of tropical cyclone activity , but it is becoming clear that it Mostly due to a regional climate change rather than global. Actually, sulfate aerosol is the best example of human activity. These aerosols are produced by burning fossil fuels. The volume of these aerosols increased rapidly between the 1950s and 1980s and then declined at the same pace due to the activity of clean air. Their indirect effect was that it cooled the tropical Atlantic , as a result, the Hurricanes remained silent in the 70s and 80s. We believe that the increase after that is due to the reduction in air pollution. “
With the Atlantic this year, with a possible link between long-term warming of cyclones and oceans are also many other reasons that Tropical caused by climate change increases the risk of cyclones.
Temperature and storm power
Now let’s take a look at the science of storms. Cyclones gain strength from available heat. Warming seas can make these cyclones even more powerful due to the energy available to them. This energy effectively increases their power or speed range. As a result of climate change, the temperature of the oceans across the world has increased and in recent decades there has been a global increase in the intensity of the most powerful sea storms. This study has been confirmed in a study published in June. It has been found in the study that the ratio of the most powerful storms has increased by about 8% in a decade . This year Hurricane Etah was one of the most powerful storms in November.
In the last few years, the sea temperature has increased due to greenhouse gases generated due to human activities. The last 5 years have been the warmest years in terms of oceans since 1955 .
Rapid increase in intensity
The proportion of tropical cyclones is increasing rapidly , which Also called rapid intensification. According to various studies, these changes are related to climate change. The warm waters of the oceans are a factor in increasing this intensity , so the increased ocean temperature due to greenhouse gases generated by human activities increases the probability of this intensity. Rapid increase in intensity is a danger because it makes it difficult to predict what a storm will be like , so how to prepare for dealing with the situation when it hits the coast.
The nine tropical storms of the 2020 Atlantic season (Hannah , Laura , Sally , Teddy , Gamma Delta , Epsilon , Zeta and Aita) were of strong intensity.
Heavy rain
The Earth’s atmosphere is heating up due to carbon emissions. The warm environment can absorb large amounts of water, causing heavy rains during cyclones. This increases the risk of flooding. Scientists relate the direct increase of moisture in the environment to human-caused climate change. Record-breaking rain events have increased significantly globally in recent decades. This is a result of global warming and scientists predict that if climate change continues, the rains caused by sea storms will increase.
Storm surge
Hurricane velocity is often considered the greatest threat caused by cyclones. The increase in storm surge due to climate change may be due to rising sea level. Apart from this, increasing size and increasing speed of storm winds can also be the reason. The global water level has already risen to about 23 centimeters. This has happened due to carbon pollution arising due to human activities.