Local resident contemplates the roof of his home perched on a nearby tree after Hurricane Charley.
Every year the planet awes us with meteorological phenomena,
like monsoons in Asia and hurricanes off the Americas. But however
devastating these have been, there was at least some form of
continuity and predictability in their seasonal appearances. Now it
seems that predictability is a thing of the past, with cases of
extreme weather on the increase.
This week Japan suffered from its third typhoon in three weeks.
It is the fourth major storm to hit Japan since late August, and is
reportedly the most powerful to hit Okinawa since 1972.
Poor harvests, caused by this summer's bad weather and flash
floods, are having serious consequences for farmers in northern
Europe. Entire fields have been left to rot due to the summer's
heavy rainfall. Some countries have had their wettest summer months
on record. In 2003, dry weather provided a bumper harvest, but the
havoc caused by this year's torrential storms could also reach into
2005, thanks to seed and soil damage.
More
and more scientists are indicating that climate change is to blame
for these recent erratic weather patterns. The concentration of CO2
(the main greenhouse gas) in the lower atmosphere is now at its
highest for at least 420,000 years - possibly even 20 million years
- and stands 34 percent above its level before the Industrial
Revolution. The rise has been accelerating since 1950.
In August, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published a
report examing the impacts of Europe's changing climate. The report
suggests that between 1975 and 2001, the annual number of flood
events increased and that climate change is likely to increase the
frequency of extreme floods.
The coming years will see Europe experiencing more frequent and
economically costly storms, floods, droughts and other extreme
weather. While there will be wetter conditions in northern Europe,
the south will have drier weather, threatening agriculture in some
areas. More frequent and more intense heat waves, pose a lethal
threat to the elderly and frail, as occurred in the summer of 2003.
Melting European glaciers are also an issue with EEA report
estimating that three-quarters of those in the Swiss Alps are
likely to disappear by 2050.
Hotting up
The 1990s were the warmest decade on record and the three
hottest years recorded - 1998, 2002 and 2003 - have occurred in the
last six years. The global warming rate is now almost 0.2 ºC per
decade.
In August 2002, serious flooding in 11 countries killed around
80 people, affected more than 600,000 and caused economic losses of
at least US$15 billion. In the summer 2003 heat wave, western and
southern Europe recorded more than 20,000 excess deaths,
particularly among elderly people. Crop harvests in many southern
countries were down by as much as 30 percent. Melting reduced the
mass of Alpine glaciers by one-tenth in 2003 alone. Who knows what
the economic and social costs of summer 2004 will be?
Hurricanes too?
Even though there is currently no scientific research linking
hurricanes to climate change, the recent activity off the Americas
is raising questions. Hurricane Charley visited the Caribbean and
the state of Florida in the USA in August, and was swiftly followed
by Hurricane Frances. Both hurricanes caused millions of dollars of
damage. As of early September, another hurricane is looming -
Hurricane Ivan was making its way towards Florida.
In March 2004, a hurricane hit the Brazilian coast - the first
ever recorded in the South Atlantic. This posed a challenge to
climate science and efforts in understanding the full implications
of climate change. Major scientific uncertainty in studies of
climate change has centered on whether an enhanced greenhouse
effect will increase the frequency or intensity of hurricanes.
Until further scientific work is done it is impossible to say
whether or not the occurrence of a hurricane in Brazilian waters
was a "freak" event or a sign of things to come.
What can you do about it?
While governments need to act you can also make a difference. Here are 2 things you can do now:
Calculate your global warming emissions and see if you can reduce your impact.
See if your country has green energy suppliers who sell renewable energy to households.