Hurricane Ida’s Devastation: A Result of Climate Change
On the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, another historic hurricane touched down in Louisiana.
According to the Associated Press, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 29.
The storm formed on the Caribbean Sea on Aug. 26, originally as a Category one storm. However, in three days, the storm developed into a Category four with winds recorded at about 150 miles per hour.
Although the storm made landfall in Louisiana, effects have been felt all over the East Coast. New York City residents received their first ever flash flood warning, according to National Public Radio. On Thursday, Sept. 2, trains and vehicles were at a standstill for several hours because of the floodwaters.
As of Wednesday Sept. 8, NPR reported that the death toll from the storm across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic is 48 people.
The storm moved over the Gulf of Mexico, which reached temperatures of 85 degrees Fahrenheit this year. This temperature is about one to four degrees Celsius warmer than average, as tracked by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Hot water in the hurricane acts as an energy booster. The water sends increased moisture into the storm which results in faster winds and deadlier outcomes. The hot water also makes flooding worse for the areas affected. The moisture collected as a result of hot water develops into heavy rainfall as the storm touches ground.
Hurricanes like Ida are expected to occur more frequently since global temperatures are on a rapid increase, as reported by NPR. According to an annual study conducted by NOAA, Earth’s land and ocean temperature has been increasing about 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit each decade since 1880. Since 1981, the average increase in temperature per decade has been recorded at 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit. Although the temperature increase appears small, NOAA reports that this accumulated heat leads to heavier rainfall in storms as the Earth continues to warm.
President Joe Biden held a briefing on Sept. 7 in New Jersey to address the aftermath of the storm. In the briefing, Biden focused on how climate change is causing storms like this to occur more frequently. “We’ve got to listen to the scientists and the economists and the national security experts. They tell us this is code red,” stated Biden. “They’ve been warning us that the extreme weather would get more extreme over the decade, and we’re living in it real time now.”
Biden ordered emergency federal assistance for New York and New Jersey, which allows aid to reach the states and their residents, according to a press release from the White House.