Unit 5 Flashcards
What is the definition of extreme weather?
is a weather event that is significantly different from
the average usual weather pattern for a particular location
What are some example of extreme weather?
droughts
flash flooding
tropical cyclones
heat waves
What is meant by anthropogenic climate change?
believed to be the driving force of increased extreme weather but also increasing the frequency of the storms
How often do El Niño and El nina events occur?
every 3 to 8 years
What is La niña?
this is a more extreme version of the normal conditions, the low pressure is lower and high pressure is higher
What is the El Niño conditions?
when atmospheric pressures switch (southern oscillation)
What is the case study for an El niño related extreme event?
California and Ethiopia in 2015 and 2016
What was the weather patterns like in 2015 to 2016 due to El niño? What were the impacts?
excessive rainfall
state wide 30% increase in purchases food
value of insured properties doubled
What were the conditions of Ethiopia in 2015 to 2016 due to El niño? What were the impacts?
severe drought
caused 80% of the harvest to fail, affected 22 million people
led to malnutrition and increased vulnerability of disease
Are el niño events becoming more common/severe?
Between 1998 and 2005 there have been fewer but more intense
What was the warmest year on record?
2024 it was 1.6 degrees warmer than 1880, breached Paris climate agreement
What type of extreme natural events have increased the most and why?
meteorological/hydrological/climatological
increased with climate change e.g. tropical storms, droughts and mild fires
How has Europe’s pattern of extreme weather events changed, and which areas experience what kind of climate hazard?
North Western Europe will experience increased winter storms, precipitation and a greater risk of flooding
the Mediterranean region will experience drier conditions, more heat waves and forest fires
What are the 4 causes of extreme weather?
- Cyclonic storms
- Convective storms
- Winter Anticyclones
- Summer Anticyclones
What are the impacts of cyclonic storms?
These are wet storms, caused by low pressure systems carried over by the jet stream, causing damage to coastal areas and increased flooding
What are the examples and case studies of cyclonic storms in the U.K?
Dudley storm
Storm Xavier - 2013
-1,400 homes flooded
(occurs around 5 times a year in the U.K)
On average how much rainfall does U.K receive from cyclonic storms?
60 - 200cm annually
What are the impacts of convective storms?
cold and wet weather
very heavy rainfall, can lead to hail or thunderstorms
What is an example of a convective storm?
June 23rd 2016, Southern Netherlands storm 3-5 m wide, ruined greenhouses and agricultural land
What are the impacts of a winter anticyclone?
flying debris causes damage to property and infrastructure
How do winter anticyclones form?
when there is a high pressure North of the U.K, bringing cold Siberian air over the U.K
What is an example of a winter anticyclone?
2022 Storm Eunice
120 mph winds
waves over 11m high in some coastal regions
‘Beast from the East’ 2018
How does a summer anticyclone work?
large unstable high pressure systems
What are the impacts of a summer anticyclone?
no rain = drought, water levels drop, takes longer for these conditions to change
What is an example of a summer anticyclone?
Summer 2022 U.K
hit 40 degrees, which was record breaking
What is the case study for European Heat waves, droughts and forest fires?
2023 Heatwave
How were low river flows and lake levels affected by the 2023 heatwave?
Reservoirs used for public water supply and hydroelectric schemes either dried up or ran extremely low
The river Danube fell to its lowest level in 100 years
What is an example of a forest fire that was caused due to the 2023 heatwave?
in Portugal 215,000 hectares are of forest were destroyed by the fires
How where melting glaciers affected by the 2023 heatwave?
extreme snow and glacier melt in the European Alps led to increased rock and ice falls in the mountains
What were the human impacts of the 2023 heatwave?
47,000 people died due to the heat wave e.g. in Greece, Italy and Spain
What is the case study for European floods as a result of the 2023 heatwave?
Valencia, Spain
How many dead in the Spain floods?
more than 200
What caused the flood and how is it linked to climate change?
cool air blows over the Mediterranean and picks up warm moisture creating a low pressure system, causes large hail and thunder storms
climate change = more frequent and more intense
What is the evidence that tropical storms will become more severe?
global temp rise in sea level and land
increase in frequency and intensity
category 4 going to be increased, talks of adding a 6th category
When was the Storm Harvey, and what was so significant about it?
2017, dropped more rain than any hurricane in the USA
When was storm Ophelia, and what was so significant about it?
2017, formed further northeast than any other cat 3 Atlantic Hurricane
When was storm Irma, and what was so significant about it?
2017, sustained wind speed of 300km/h longer than any storm on record (for 37 hours)
What was the case study for the vulnerability of tropical cyclones and extreme weather on small island states?
Vanuatu, South West Pacific Ocean
What is the population and size of Vanuatu?
82 volcanic islands, population of 260,000 residents
How above sea level are the Vanuatu islands?
only a metre
What is the sea level rise annually in Vanuatu?
3mm per year
Between 1990 and 2018, what has the total fisheries production decreased by?
75%
What are the environmental effects these islands suffer from due to anthropogenic climate change?
ocean temperature rise, and ocean acidification which is threatening the coral reefs, in these regions coastal fishing provides nutrition and employment to the people of these islands
What is the average annual loss from extreme weather events in Vanuatu?
17.9% of the total GDP
What are the names of the 2 storms that hit Vanuatu and when?
- Cyclone Pam , 2015
- Cyclone Harold, 2020
What were the impacts of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu?
destroyed 96% of the islands food crop
left 75,000 people homeless
economic damage equivalent of 64% of the countries GDP
What were the impacts of Cyclone Harold on Vanuatu?
left 87,000 people homeless
In 2022, how many natural hazard event occurred in the South West Pacific?
37 recorded
What is the case study located in the Indian ocean?
The Maldives
How may people lived in the Maldives and what is the size of the area?
300,000 people, consists of 1200 islands
What % of the Maldives islands are less than 1m above sea level?
80%
What % of GDP does tourism account for in the Maldives?
28%
What % of the population does the fishing industry employ in the Maldives?
20%
How has the capital of the Maldives attempted to reduce their vulnerability to the threats of climate?
Male, the capital is surrounded by a 3m high wall, which took 14 years to construct and cost $63 million, with Japan paying for 99% of the cost
Why are the Maldives trying to construct a new island called Hulu Male?
hopes of transferring 120,000 people across, island is currently 2.1m above sea level (not a permanent solution)
What is the case study for dramatic weather variability?
Asia, droughts then flooding in India, Nepal and Bangladesh
In 2016 how many people were affected by the failure of the monsoon rains in Asia?
330 million people
What % of India faces high to extremely high water stress?
54%
In 2017, how many people where affected in South Asia, due to monsoon flooding?
16 million people
What were the impacts of the 2017 monsoon floods in South Asia?
- one third of Bangladesh and Nepal were flooded
faced severe food shortages, disease being spread from polluted water - 239 died - INDIA
- 128 died - NEPAL
Why were these south Asian countries so affected by the monsoon flooding?
less economically developed countries
By 2030 how many people will live in countries highly exposed to natural hazards?
325 million people
In sub Saharan Africa, how many people in poverty will face extreme events?
118 million people in poverty
How does being poor correlate with extreme weather?
extreme weather will cause those who are poor to become poorer, leads to ill health, which can keep people in poverty
What is an example of how a MEDC adapts to extreme weather effects? What did they do?
Miami beach was raised above sea level in 2017 - had become a $650 million project
How did Miami adapt to extreme weather in 2017?
- installed new pumps which could remove 75,000 litres of water per min
- new minimum heights per sea wall were establishe
What is an example of how a LEDC is adapting to extreme weather events? What happened there?
Natural sea walls in Indonesia
in Demale, already lost 3km of land and whole villages to the sea
What did Indonesia do to cope with a rise in extreme weather events?
in 2018, wetlands international and ecoshape, launched a project to restore the islands coastal mangrove systems
78% of which had been cleared for urban development
building 9km of semi permeable sea dams to mimic mangrove roots
How did the adaptation created in Indonesia help the residents tackle issues they had been facing?
within the first year…
= sediment built up by 45cm, erosion was stalled
= local shrimp farmers, who were taught sustainable aquaculture, their income triple
