Weather and Climate case studies Flashcards
What is the annual average temperature in Cornwall compared to the north of Scotland?
13.6 compared to 9.3
What is your storm/depressions case study?
The Great Storm 1987
Give an example of an Equatorial climate
Peru- hot and wet all year round
Give an example of a tropical savannah climate
Lagos, Nigeria- hot with a wet and dry season: rainfall varies from 22mm to 414mm
Give an example of management of a tropical revolving storm
Project Storm Fury
Silver iodide to seed the storm by inducing rainfall
Give an example of differing damage of tropical revolving storms in MEDCs and LEDCs
Bangladesh 1991- 131,000 deaths and $1.7 billion
Florida 1992 similar strength- 60 deaths $20 billion damage
Tropical revolving storms case study MEDC
Hurricane Katrina 2005
Category 5
Tropical revolving storm case study MEDC causes
Formed over Bahamas on the 23rd August 2005
Headed to coast of Mississippi and Louisiana as a Category 4
Intensified to category 5- 280km/h 902mb
Storm surge of 10m high in places accompanied the storm on the 28th August
Levees broke
Tropical revolving storm case study MEDC
impacts
80% underwater 1836 killed 300,000 houses destroyed $300 billion of damage One of the main routes out of New Orleans was closed as parts of the bridge collapsed Oil refineries damaged and forced to close having a world wide impact- oil spills Years of medical research were lost Looting was a problem
Tropical revolving storm case study MEDC
responses
Hurricane Pam simulation but 9/11 priority funding cut
2 days before Bush announced state of emergency as warning given from National Hurricane centre
Louisiana superdome prepared for 15,000- 26,000 arrived
President Bush criticised
80% of New Orleans residents evacuated
FEMA mortuary teams with refrigerated trucks to prevent disease spreading
50,000 people rescued by emergency services
Pumps failed to pump water out of the city
Storm/depressions case study causes
Depression over Bay of Biscay
Warm wet air from North Atlantic met cold air from the Pole.
Depression deepened due to unusually high sea surface temperatures
PFJS located further south than usual so depression formed over N. France and S. England rather than the N. Scotland.
15th Oct- pressure fell from 970mb to 953mb
Storm hit south coast Cornwall and Devon moved across Midlands and reached Humber estuary
Storm/depressions case study impacts
18 people died 13 million homes damaged Gatwick airport closed Insurance claims at £1.5 billion 15 million trees uprooted Communications broken due to falling trees Some historical buildings damaged e.g. Shanklin Pier Emergency services overstretched
Storm/depressions case study responses
Emergency authorities received four months of calls in one night
Highway agencies, railway companies and electricity boards worked around the clock repairing
Forestry workers- 2 years collecting and replanting
Emergency crews drafted from North
Met office criticised as warnings only given 3 hours before- now improved computer models used and government established a national severe weather warning service
Ministry of Defence only warned assistance may be needed 1am on 16th October
What is your tropical revolving storm case study LEDC
Cyclone Nargis 2008
Tropical revolving storm case study LEDC causes
27th April 2008 tropical depression formed over Bay of Bengal
Expected it to track over Bangladesh however hit Myanmar- Irrawaddy Delta 2nd May
Intensified to category 4, 215km/h, storm surge 5m, 600mm rain
Tropical revolving storm case study LEDC impacts
140,000 killed
450,000 houses destroyed, 350,000 damaged
75% health facilities destroyed
2.5 million left without shelter
Disease and mental health issues
600,000 hectares of agricultural land damaged crops lost 40% of food stores lost
Protection from mangrove was reduced due to Myanmar clearing 83% to make way for rice paddies
Tropical revolving storm case study LEDC responses
Myanmar doesn’t have a dedicated monitoring system but were warned by Indian weather agencies- as well as no emergency preparation plans, the warnings sent 48 hours before didn’t reach rural communities
Xenophobic response- possibility of ethnic cleansing of chin people-
Refusal of international aid to begin with
9th May accepted aid but no aid workers
UN refugee agency- 22 tonnes of tents
Muslim Aid- water purification tablets. food
French Navy ship refused despite carrying 1500 tonnes of supplies
3 weeks later aid workers allowed in
Compare Katrina and Nargis
Damage more expensive Katrina but loss in Nargis perhaps more significant e.g. fishing boat lost= little economic impact but someone’s means of food and business lost
Myanmar and Louisiana had built on delta- Myanmar cleared natural defence- Louisiana built levees
Dissemination of warning appropriate in US
Myanmar government made it worse
Those affected most were those who started most vulnerable
Red alert air pollution
Beijing, China December 2015
200-300 reading on air quality index
These levels seen to affect even healthy people
In some areas levels have been over 900
Photochemical smog
LA
High density vehicles, frequent sunshine, located in a bowl with San Gabriel and San Berdino mountains on one side and Pacific ocean on the other which help trap photooxidant gases
London
1952- 1200 deaths caused by smog called pea soupers
Air quality improvements initiatives
Congestion charges London 2003- reduced traffic and emissions in congestion zone by 15%.
Metro link Manchester cost £1 billion but is thought to have taken 2.6 million cars off the road.
Pedestrianisation London, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff.
Alternative fuels- biofuels
UK clean air acts of 1956 and 1968 introduced smoke control areas where only smokeless fuels could be burned, reduced industrial pollution but introducing tall chimneys.
Road vehicles Regulations- emissions test on MOT
Mexico City reg plates
Paris March 2014- car ban odd/even reg plates
Birmingham, Bristol and London- car sharing schemes
Impacts of global warming
Desert conditions in Spain
Russia and Canada more suitable for agriculture
Rising sea levels threaten Bangladesh and Netherlands
Rain flood in India
Drought in Niger
Agriculture less in Africa and Australia
Impacts of global warming on the UK
Southern England temp increase 3.9C by 2080
Flooding in Hull, Cardiff, London
Low lying areas Norfolk
Patterns of agriculture beans, peas, courgettes
Comma butterfly move north
Competing species better adapted for warmer climates
Water holding capacity of soils, soil moisture deficits
Stability of building foundations
Water resources
Energy use- heating air con
Impacts on tropical areas- Africa- African Savanna
Savanna islands an increase in temp of 1.5C by 2050
More frequent drought and flooding- during wet season 25-50% more rainfall expected
Sea level rise of 25cm by 2050 low lying areas affected and coral reefs may be lost due to coral bleaching
Increase growth of trees that was previously grass- increased evapotranspiration may result in lower annual discharge in rivers such as the Nile
Increased water borne diseases but more agricultural productivity from more rainfall
