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Man braves flood waters in his destroyed village during the aftermath of Hurricane Stan. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands left homeless by extensive flooding in Mexico.
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Mexico and Florida were hardest hit by Wilma. Mexico has just suffered extensive
flooding, landslides and loss of life due to Hurricane Stan. On
Wednesday 19 Oct, Wilma was measured as the strongest hurricane every
recorded. The 2005 North Atlantic hurricane season has been one of the
most intense since records began in 1851. Only 1969 had as many
hurricanes as this year.
Apparently the body responsible for naming hurricanes will have to start with the Greek alphabet if there is a new hurricane this season, having run out of suitable letters in the alphabet to name hurricanes in 2005.
Unparalleled destruction due to hurricanes and the Amazon Rainforest suffering severe drought might be providing a little peek into our future shaped by global warming. A warmer world will experience many more extreme weather events like droughts, storms and floods.
According to the 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, hurricanes are predicted to continue becoming more intense and more damaging, with stronger winds and more rain - because of global warming. Extreme weather has been around long before humans started heating up the planet - but we cannot afford to stand by while hurricanes - the most extreme storms on the planet, gather strength.
While hurricanes and droughts hit the headlines and thousands of people lose their lives there is strangely little news about the urgent international action required to tackle global warming.
We could wait with our fingers crossed, hoping the worst of the predictions don't come true, although with every passing week, events and the evidence stack up to suggest it's the worst possible option for the planet.
The solutions are here - clean renewable energy and energy efficiency measures can be implemented now and this must be better than taking a gamble with the planet - as the last few weeks have shown we would certainly lose that gamble, big time.
Out of names
Apparently the body responsible for naming hurricanes will have to start with the Greek alphabet if there is a new hurricane this season, having run out of suitable letters in the alphabet to name hurricanes in 2005.
Unparalleled destruction due to hurricanes and the Amazon Rainforest suffering severe drought might be providing a little peek into our future shaped by global warming. A warmer world will experience many more extreme weather events like droughts, storms and floods.
According to the 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, hurricanes are predicted to continue becoming more intense and more damaging, with stronger winds and more rain - because of global warming. Extreme weather has been around long before humans started heating up the planet - but we cannot afford to stand by while hurricanes - the most extreme storms on the planet, gather strength.
While hurricanes and droughts hit the headlines and thousands of people lose their lives there is strangely little news about the urgent international action required to tackle global warming.
Global gamble
We could wait with our fingers crossed, hoping the worst of the predictions don't come true, although with every passing week, events and the evidence stack up to suggest it's the worst possible option for the planet.
The solutions are here - clean renewable energy and energy efficiency measures can be implemented now and this must be better than taking a gamble with the planet - as the last few weeks have shown we would certainly lose that gamble, big time.
