3.4 Climate Change And Tropical Storms

Question 1

How does climate change cause higher storm surges

Answer 1

• as temp increases, sea levels rise due to thermal expansion
• impact of rising sea levels will mean storm surges will be higher

Question 2

storm surge def

Answer 2

when a storm creates strong waves and a rise in sea level, leading to coastal flooding

Question 3

How will climate change lead to increased heavy rainfall

Answer 3

• warmer atmosphere will mean air can hold more moisture
• so heavy rainfall is expected to increase

Question 4

how is tropical storm intensity and frequency tracked

Answer 4

using satellite technology

Question 5

How does climate change lead to an increase in storm intensity

Answer 5

• evidence of a link between warmer oceans and intensity (destructive power)
• most severe category 4-5 storms have increased since the 1970s
• predictions suggest that every 1 degree increase in temperature will lead to a 3-5% rise in wind speed

Question 6

will climate change change frequency and distribution of ts

Answer 6

• scientists are uncertain whether it will lead to an increase
• overall frequency of ts is expected to remain the same or decrease
• number of more severe tropical storms will increase, category 1-3 storms will decrease
• distribution not expected to change significantly

Question 7

why are scientists uncertain about changes in ts due to climate change

Answer 7

• inaccurate data: wind speed monitoring has only become more accurate in recent decades. Use of previous data (which is less accurate) to decide how tropical storms are affected by climate change is questionable
• unreliable predictions: predicting the impact of climate change is unreliable, as the rate of climate change is uncertain
• Other impacts: potential risk to life and property has already increased due to population growth and building in coastal location, even without factoring in climate change