Introduction:
What are hurricanes? “A tropical cyclone is a warm-core, non-frontal synoptic-scale cyclone, originating over tropical or subtropical waters, with organized deep convection and a closed surface with circulation about a well-defined center.” (“Hurricane Science” 2010-2015) They usually appear in places with low pressure that have strong winds and heavy rains. A typical hurricane speed is over 110km/h. Its usual width is between 160 km to 500 km and its height is 10 miles. The middle of the hurricane is called the eye and that part is usually wide 20 to 50km. Because of their massive size and chaotic actions, hurricanes have a massive effect on nature, by destroying living things, forests, homes, etc. Unfortunately, the hurricanes are getting even worse and the reason for that is people.
How are hurricanes formed?:
Hurricanes first appear as tropical storms over the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, in the parts where the water is warmer, near the equator. (“Hurricanes and Climate change” 2008) And as the moister raises, it starts to create a big amount of warm water that is moving in circles higher and higher. If it stays over water and if the temperature is over 26 C, it will continue to get bigger and stronger, the temperature can go to about 40 C. If the circulation of water remains relatively small and active, and the diameter is not that big, the heat will remain inside the hurricane itself. (Hart 2006, p 3) The moment when the hurricane gets over land or when the temperature drops, it slows done until it stops. There are cases where a storm is created of water with a lower temperature, however, the moment it reaches warmer water it is reformed into a hurricane. Another way of creation can be with cold winds that at a lower level can create a place for a storm to appear. Additionally, also a cyclone that has been created in a cold atmosphere can move towards the equator and if it stays over that part of the earth for enough time it may become a tropical storm. Also, there is a group of storms over land. They create circulation and shift over water. Because of their strong force lately, there have been satellites or helicopters, for example, that monitor and watch over those parts of the world, where hurricanes most often appear, trying to prevent enormous damage. (“Hurricanes and Climate change” 2008)
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Negative effects of hurricanes on nature:
Hurricanes have a negative impact on nature. For example, after a number of hurricanes, there has been a lot of pollution and contamination throughout the seawater, which affected a lot of sponges by smothering sponges chasing away lobsters and sea whips. (Sergio 2018) Additionally, after another case of natural disaster, there were a lot of metal objects in the sea, which lead to the high quantity of iron, in which algae blooms live. After a hurricane, there can be a lot of other garbage in the water, for example, bags or balloons, which turtles consider food. Or also plastic straws that turtles breathe into their nose and this most of the time leads to death.
An interesting fact is that sharks in a way can sense when a storm is coming. (Sergio 2018) While they were monitored, part of the sharks moved to open water, another part disappeared from the monitor. This actually happened a while before a hurricane appeared. It is considered that they were scenting changes in the pressure.
When it comes to coral reefs, there have been different statistics. (Sergio 2018) In some places over 80% of the coral reefs have been destroyed. Also, because of the heavy rains that hurricanes bring, the saltiness of water is reduced, which harms reefs too. The reason for this is that some hurricanes are formed with fresh water.
There are different animals who respond in different ways to natural disasters. They either stay and try to cope with the new situation or they migrate. (Welch 2006, 4.1) The latter is usually the choice, especially if the disturbance of their environment is intense. The other choice, that animals make, is to adjust and try to change their habits and diet. This is a choice they make when the first one is not possible. A third alternative, which is used during severe natural disasters, is creating places to hide, bigger nests, hiding in trees, etc. This usually applies to smaller animals. During a natural disaster, there is usually a loss of food and supplies, which usually leads to competition amongst the animals.
The environmental damage that hurricanes can do is transfer water that contains chemicals. For example, after the explosion in Chornobyl, a lot of particles were transferred and it made much bigger damage than the explosion alone did. (Horkovich & Nevius 2017) “A variety of toxic chemicals also may come from contaminants washed from flooded subways, roads, parking lots, and tunnels. These liquids can contaminate both surface and groundwater, especially where large amounts of debris pile up or where heavy rains or storm surges cause flash flooding, fouling local waterways (Horkovich & Nevius 2017).” Even in not that big of a storm, a lot of chemicals or anything else can leak and pollute water supplies. There are a lot of containers and subjects filled with chemicals or contained liquid, which can vary in size and can be spread on roads or houses. Hurricanes pollute not only the water but also the air. This affects nature, animals, and people.
Recent hurricanes:
The last hurricanes that occurred were in 2017 and there were 3 of them. The first one was Harvey, which appeared on the Texas Coast. This hurricane was rated a 4 out of 5, where 1 is the smallest and weakest kind of a storm and 5 is a “monster.” There were 50 inches of rain and over 80 deaths. (Fromby 2018) Another example is hurricane Maria which occurred on the Caribbean island. This hurricane was graded a 4 and in some articles a 5. Over 16 000 people were left without electricity, there were 27 deaths and over 50 missings. (The Guardian 2017) The third one is Irma, again on the Caribbean island. It was rated a 4 out of 5. The results were 600 000 without electricity and over 50 000 without water. (The Guardian 2017) Probably one positive thing about these hurricanes is that people after that have the opportunity to build something more eco-friendly and healthier, which may change the environment. For example in the past a lot of American people had low-quality homes, however, now they may build something that can protect them from natural disasters.
How hurricanes affect people:
We should always think about the best way to recover. Hurricanes have big effects on people and their homes. (MMedci & Samet & Johnatan 2018, p33/34) For example, heavy rains can cause big floods and destruction because of winds. Hurricanes have the power to make people helpless for months. It can lead to a lack of clean water, which may also lead to sickness or sometimes death. Hurricanes can destroy lives in other ways too. Some businesses may be destroyed, and agriculture maybe everything that a person or a family has. This in a way destroys their whole future. (“Terrestrial Impacts” 2010 – 2015, Impacts of Agriculture)
How is global warming affecting hurricanes?:
Even though hurricanes are a natural part of the world, it seems like they are getting stronger and more intense. And the reason for this is global warming. (Schwartz 2018) It is not clear whether the storms are more in quantity, however, they are much more severe now than they were in the past. We are causing ice to melt, sea levels to rise, create more flooding, and heat the water and planet. And as I mentioned earlier, warm waters have bigger moisture and which leads to the creation of tropical storms, which leads to hurricanes. Scientists estimate that: “the storm’s heaviest rainfall would be 50 percent greater, and the size of the storm some 50 miles wider, because of the human interference in the climate system (Schwartz 2018).” Despite these numbers, people, and politics mainly, are not moved by the damage, in their opinion, the effects are temporary and they just need to repair what is left and do not consider what are actually the reasons for the creation, or for example, relocating people from places whit high quantities of hurricane damages. Restoring the damages, made by humanity will takes years. But we still need to do it in a way that such dangerous hurricanes will not happen anymore. However, people are not thought to think about the long-term. (“Hurricanes and Climate Change” 2008-2019)
The positive side of hurricanes:
Despite all these tragedies that hurricanes bring, there are, however, some positive outcomes. (Belles 2017) They in a way help the environment in some cases. For example, hurricanes help the spread of seeds of plants that are in places that have fewer winds. Secondly, these hurricanes are a great source of moisture for the dryer part of the world. This can be very helpful for countries like Japan and Southeast Asia. A hurricane can spread 6 inches up to one foot of water around it. However, there is a thin line between enough and too much water. Sometimes, the rains lead to flooding. Additionally, hurricanes are formed with warm water. This is a way for the earth to cool down from the warm weather and maintain the global heat balance. Another example is that some ecosystems are not growing in their best possible way, and by destroying them with hurricanes, the ecosystem grows out better and stronger. Also, even though hurricanes may be dangerous for marine life, one positive thing is that hurricanes move around the minerals from the bottom of the sea.
Future research:
What does the future hold for us? (“Hurricanes and Climate Change” 2008-2019) Hurricanes are going to get bigger and stronger. The intensity and frequency will raise and most of the storms will be graded either a 4 or a 5. By the end of the century, the sea level is predicted to rise 1 to 4 feet, which will give more access to the land to hurricanes and their destructions. Taking into consideration the deaths and damages the hurricanes have made, we should seriously think about global warming and what can we do to prevent these tragedies from happening again. A question that scientists are trying to answer is how strong and severe hurricanes are going to get because of global warming. (Milman 2019)There are observations and analyses which show that in fact, hurricanes are getting worse. Scientists are trying to predict future hurricanes. There are actually 13 storms, some of which are considered to develop into a hurricane.
What we need to do to decrease destructive hurricanes:
There are some ways in which humanity can help nature and animals go back to their old ways of living or just help them survive. (Harveston 2019) The first way, which might help to lower the chances of a destructive hurricane is by reducing greenhouse emissions. Also, we can try to protect the dunes and rivers so that they can absorb the water. Furthermore, we can check and secure old buildings, which might save future lives. However, when it comes to animals, the best thing humanity can do is let them go through this on their own. The only thing we can do for them is not to heat the planet this much and lower the hurricane strength.
Conclusion:
Despite having some positive effects, hurricanes still bring great damage to the environment. They destroy whole ecosystems and natural habitats, they can destroy marine life. Furthermore, it affects people by destroying their homes and businesses. However, humanity is actually responsible for the severance of hurricanes. What we do and how we damage the planet has its effects. If we continue using the planet only for food, electricity, or a way of getting money, the planet will soon fight back which may cause even bigger natural disasters.
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