What is causing so much flood?

Andreas Klippe Comments February 12, 2018

This year’s storms have proven exceptionally intense compared to the previous years.

There is no doubt that climate change played a part in it. Many people refused to believe it exists but the irrefutable proof is there that climate change will bring more unusual weather patterns.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria broke record levels of rainfalls for more than a century rendering Houston, Texas a city under a sea of rain.

Torrential rainfalls have rendered South Asia especially northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh virtually underwater. Devastating floods in cities has now become commonplace in these areas.

So what is happening to the world today? Are we experiencing a normal cycle of weather patterns or a result of our own doing?

A Run-Down of damages Caused by Intense Storm

Around 1,000 people died in flooding in South Asia. United Nations statistics estimated 41 million people were affected all over Asia. About 18,000 schools were destroyed leaving 1.8 million children without a place to learn, this according to Save the Children Foundation.

Hurricane Harvey left a wide swath of destruction with its deadly floods. Buildings and infrastructures were damaged badly leaving one million people without shelter. It flooded the Houston area with a record of 27 trillion gallons of water and 108 billion dollars in damages.

Is climate change the culprit?

So the question in everybody’s mind is, “did Climate Change contributed to the unusual weather patterns these past few years?”

The answer is more complex than a simple yes or no. Earth’s atmosphere is a complicated machine of nature with a variety of factors all mixed together.

But when it comes to rainfall, climate change is responsible for its unusual volume. Under the Clausius-Clapeyron equation for water vapour, warm air can hold seven percent more water for every one degree Celsius increase in temperature. So imagine the air increasing in temperature over the ocean. The amount of evaporation from the ocean will increase due to global warming which concludes to climate change.

The average temperature of the earth have increased by one degree Celsius since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Meaning there is more moisture in the air, added that to slow global winds circulating thus increasing the temperature and more rains to carry.

It is uncertain that the occurrence due to climate change, but there is a strong evidence for the amount of rainfall coming from storms today is undeniably greater than from a century ago.

How can we solve this problem?

The answer is simple. Don’t pollute.

People who throw away garbage, driving smoke belching vehicles, dumping hazardous chemicals to the oceans, burning forests and factories spewing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are to blame for climate change.

It is not enough that we deplete earth’s resources to have the most sought after items we can find but to make it more cheaper so more people can have it. That means more production and therefore more waste by-products is produced.

People are not contented with what they have, it’s a tendency to get more and cheaply. It doesn’t matter if the raw materials comes from the earth and rarely restored, people just want to have it because it’s there.

Materialism is not a bad thing but it must not be to the point getting it would change the environment. There are other issues to consider before getting the latest gadgets or accessories. It is about time that people help each other restore mother earth and not destroy it to make life comfortable.

So now, what can you do to help?

Earth is everyone’s concern. One cannot bury his head in the sand and pretend it will just go away. You as a resident of this world can contribute to saving it. Post your comments what you can do to help our planet.