Hurricanes have always been destructive and deadly — now, our steadily overheating planet is making them increasingly devastating.
As temperatures rise, sea surface temperatures do too, fueling intense storms that are becoming stronger and more dangerous than ever before.
What's happening?
As American Progress reported, climate-fueled hurricanes, tropical cyclones, and typhoons have widespread community impacts. These intensifying storms are worsening health conditions for the public while raising costs and deepening social inequities.
Modern hurricanes have higher wind speeds, heavier rain, and greater strength before they reach land. Rising sea levels due to melting land ice exacerbate flooding risks and threaten coastal communities.
Hurricanes and similar storms are destabilizing populations and creating public health disasters. Prominent health risks include infections from toxic floodwaters, ER visits for blunt force trauma and electrocution, and long-term heart and lung issues among older adults and people with preexisting conditions.
Furthermore, hurricanes cost billions of dollars in economic losses, impact the homeowners' insurance industry, and displace low-income, underserved communities the most.
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Why are intensifying hurricanes important?
Hurricanes and other extreme storms can potentially impact nearly every aspect of daily life for humans. They also cause significant ecosystem damage by eroding land, flooding wetlands, and destroying natural plant and animal habitats.
Since hurricanes are forming faster and becoming increasingly intense, emergency response managers sometimes don't have time to respond and make decisions to help their communities. Our warming climate is creating the perfect environment for hurricanes to form and grow quickly.
Understanding these trends is crucial in preparation, forecasting, and response efforts to protect people, animals, communities, and the natural world during extreme weather events.
What's being done about extreme hurricane risks?
One of the first essential steps to mitigate extreme hurricane risks is to address and curb Earth's rising temperatures. Steadily rising temperatures contribute to extreme storms, so anything you can do to limit this rise helps prevent the worst hurricanes from devastating lives and lands.
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Do you think your house could withstand a hurricane? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
No way 😨 As an individual, you can lessen your planet-overheating pollution by driving an EV instead of a dirty-energy-powered car and buying local and second-hand products to reduce shipping-related pollution.
You can reduce your home's pollution output, become more resilient to extreme storms, and save money on monthly utility bills by installing solar panels. When you have solar panels with battery storage, you can keep the power on when the grid goes down due to a storm.
Homeowners can save up to $10,000 on solar system installation costs when they use EnergySage's free service to compare quotes from trusted local installers.
Meanwhile, technological advancements in storm forecasting are helping emergency managers better prepare for hurricanes. Better predictions lead to expedited public notifications and more informed decision-making to evacuate and care for affected residents.
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