A stunning season of hurricanes
Mitra Thangudu is an 8th grader at Fishers Junior High in Fishers, Indiana.
In late September, Hurricane Helene affected Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas. It damaged many cities throughout the region, including the Appalachians, left millions without power, cellular service, and supplies, and killed over 270 people.
Warming waters in the Gulf of Mexico can have major changes in weather patterns because warming sea temperatures can intensify tropical storms.
Hurricanes like Helene used to be expected about every 130 years on average, but today’s rate is about 2.5 times more likely than that. Helene was the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
According to climate scientists at The Department of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, climate conditions caused an increase of 50% of the rainfall as reported by the Associated Press. More than 40 trillion gallons (about 151416400 L) of water was the effect of Helene, which was unexpected by meteorologists, according to World Weather Attribution, a team of researchers and climate scientists.
Helene had a record surge of 15 feet high with winds reaching 140 miles per hour. For more on Helene, see here.
As temperatures warm in the U.S., we can also expect more tropical storms like October’s Hurricane Oscar. Oscar left Cuba and then moved into the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Milton is tropical storm which made landfall in Miami, Florida, in October. With winds of 155 mph, Milton fluctuated from a category 3 to a category 5 storm.
Hurricane Milton image courtesy of NASA.
Carbon pollution warms the atmosphere and the ocean, creating more intense storms, according to scientists. We can decrease hurricane intensity by limiting carbon pollution, powering our homes, businesses and vehicles with reusable energy, including investing in energy-efficient appliances, according to the National Resources Defense Council.
“Stopping climate change and researching about how to fix the problem of how hurricanes are developing [is a way to educate ourselves about climate change],” 8th grader Raahil Shah from Fishers Junior High School said.
According to National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one can recycle an old refrigerator and saves about 10,000 pounds (about 4535.92 kg) of carbon pollution. Saving water reduces carbon pollution, too, as it takes a lot of energy to pump heat and water. Another way to reduce pollution is by taking shorter showers and turning off the tap while brushing teeth. Additionally, changing 60-watt bulbs to 10-watt LED bulbs can have a huge impact. As NRDC indicates, “If every household in the United States replaced just one incandescent with an Energy Star–labeled LED, we would prevent seven billion pounds of carbon pollution per year. That’s equivalent to the emissions of about 648,000 cars.”
“I think it is something we have to do all together,” Thomas Petersen, a science teacher from Fishers Junior High said. “Not releasing a lot of greenhouse gases would go a long way.”
Hurricane Helene was one of the deadliest hurricanes since 2005. It destroyed many cities and left millions unreachable. As temperatures continue to rise, more hurricanes like this can be expected, but if action is taken now, future hurricanes’ impact can be lessened.
