Climatic Hazards
Climatic hazards refer to extreme weather events or conditions that pose a threat to human life, property, and the environment. These hazards can include hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, and heatwaves, among others. They are a significant concern for communities and governments, as they can cause widespread destruction and have long-term impacts on ecosystems and economies.
5 Key excerpts on "Climatic Hazards"
eBook - ePub- Dina Ionesco, Daria Mokhnacheva, François Gemenne(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Meteorological events include storms, such as cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons in tropical regions, snow or sand storms, or tornadoes in other parts of the world. Changes in precipitation, including seasonal changes such as monsoons, or longer-term gradual changes in rainfall patterns (increased or decreased precipitation), are also part of meteorological processes, Hydrological phenomena are usually sudden, such as floods caused by heavy rains or snow melt, including flash floods caused, for example, by heavy precipitation following periods of drought; coastal storm surges; or wet landslides or mudslides associated with precipitations, Slow-onset hydrological processes include changes in ice cover (melting of glaciers) and sea-level rise. Finally, climatological phenomena include sudden-onset extreme cold and hot temperatures (heatwaves, cold snaps, extreme winter conditions), dry spells, or forest and savannah wildfires, which are often human-made, but exacerbated by dry and hot weather; or slow-onset processes such as desertification and prolonged drought. In relation to society, these natural events and phenomena may constitute a direct physical threat; they are therefore considered as hazards, defined by UNISDR as 'natural processes or phenomena that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage'. When they result in human, economic or material losses, hazards turn into disasters. In addition to natural hazards, people are exposed to human-made hazards, related to human activity: these can include slow-onset processes of environmental and ecosystem degradation such as land degradation through the use of fertilizers, unsustainable agricultural practices or drilling and extractions; as well as air, water or soil pollution and ecosystem degradation related to transport, infrastructure and other development projects...
eBook - ePubClimate Change and Natural Disasters
Transforming Economies and Policies for a Sustainable Future
- Vinod Thomas(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...At the same time there is an emerging consensus that the overall frequency of various extreme events will continue to rise due to anthropogenic global warming. The convergence of anthropogenic factors and natural variability in extreme events could be catastrophic. For instance, the increase in moisture availability is likely to intensify El Niño-related precipitation variability on regional scales. Exposure Exposure is the presence of people, livelihoods, ecosystems, environmental services, resources, infrastructure, and economic, social, and cultural assets in places and settings that could be adversely affected by natural hazards. The roughly eighty tropical storms that form every year are from seven cyclone basins: Atlantic, North Indian, Southeast Indian, Southwest Indian, Northeast Pacific, Northwest Pacific, and Southwest Pacific. People living along cyclone tracks and near the coasts of these basins expect these yearly events. Similarly, people living in low-lying coastal areas and floodplains susceptible to monsoon flooding are used to heavy seasonal rains. But more people and industries are now settling in such hazard-prone areas, putting themselves in harm’s way. Clearly, a climate-related hazard might not create a disaster if it strikes where there are no communities or economic activity. An intense storm in a sparsely populated area will pose less risk than a moderate storm in a densely populated city. Increasing economic damages from tropical cyclones in recent years may be explained by the increasing wealth in locations prone to these cyclones. Some suggest that the value of tropical cyclone losses and damage may double just because of increasing incomes (Mendelsohn et al. 2012). Data from the reinsurance industry suggest that societal change in population and wealth is sufficient to explain increasing disaster losses (Mohleji and Pielke 2014)...
eBook - ePubApplied Climatology
Principles and Practice
- Allen Perry, Dr Russell Thompson, Russell Thompson(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Extremes of individual atmospheric elements can create important disasters, such as when excessively high temperatures create deaths from physiological heat stress. But the greatest cause of death and economic damage worldwide often arises from the compound-element events and the secondary, or derived, hazards (Table 23.1). For example, wind storms of various types have the capacity to inflict massive loss in a short time. The hydroClimatic Hazards of floods and droughts, which are mainly derived from extremes of rainfall, are also important and floods are usually regarded as the most common of all environmental hazards. Figure 23.1 Sensitivity to flood and drought hazards as a function of the variability of rainfall around the mean and the degree of socio-economic tolerance Table 23.1 A classification of Climatic Hazards Single-element extremes (common hazards) Compound-element events (primary hazards) Temperature Cyclones – wind + rain Precipitation Blizzards – wind + snow Snowfall Thunderstorms – rain + lightning Wind speed Tornadoes – wind + vortex Glaze storms – rain + frost Single-element extremes (less common hazards) Secondary hazards (derived from climate elements) Lightning Floods Hail Droughts Fog Wildfires Avalanches Landslides Epidemics IMPACT OF ATMOSPHERIC DISASTERS The impact of atmospheric disasters on people, communities and countries varies greatly according to the state of economic development and the vulnerability of the population. Generally speaking, climatic extremes claim most lives in the less developed countries (LDCs) and cause the greatest economic losses in the more developed countries (MDCs). In recent years, there has been a trend towards establishing databases of so-called ‘significant’ disasters which reflect the importance of relative, as opposed to absolute, economic losses...
eBook - ePubA Practical Introduction to Homeland Security and Emergency Management
From Home to Abroad
- Bruce Oliver Newsome, Jack A. Jarmon(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- CQ Press(Publisher)
...6 Natural Risks Learning Objectives and Outcomes At the end of this chapter, you should be able to understand the definitions, trends, distribution, and returns of Natural hazards and threats in general Climate change in general Weather events in general Droughts and heat waves Storms, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons Tornadoes Floods Geological and geomorphic hazards (such as subsistence) Seismic hazards (mostly earthquakes) Volcanic hazards (such as ejected lava or ash) Fires (both human-caused and wild) Cosmic hazards (such as solar storms and meteors) In September 2012, the World Economic Forum surveyed more than 1,000 experts and found them slightly more pessimistic for the next decade of global risks. This shift in opinion arose because persistent economic weakness decreases our ability to tackle environmental challenges. Respondents viewed the failure of climate change adaptation as the environmental risk with the most knock-on effects for the next decade (Howell, 2013). In 2013, the World Economic Forum identified the following six natural risks: Extreme weather events Natural catastrophes of other kinds Man-made environmental catastrophes Major biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse Water crises Failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation (World Economic Forum, 2014, p. 13) The World Economic Forum asked experts to choose the greatest risks over the next decade from a list of 31. The experts’ top 10 global risks included four natural risks. Fiscal crises in key economies Structurally high unemployment/underemployement Water crises Severe income disparity Failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation Greater incidence of extreme weather events... Global governance failure Food crises Failure of a major financial mechanism/institution Profound political and social instability (World Economic Forum, 2014, p...
eBook - ePubCarbon Finance
The Financial Implications of Climate Change
- Sonia Labatt, Rodney R. White(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
...Within this context, environmental security reflects the ability of societies to withstand environmental asset scarcity, adverse changes, and environment-related tensions or conflicts. FIGURE 7.1 Summer sea surface temperatures by ocean basin—5-year moving average Source: Webster, P. J., G. Holland, J. Curry, and H-R Chang. 2005. Changes in tropical cyclone number, duration and intensity in a warming environment. Science 309(5742):1844–1846. Human health and security impacts attributed to climate variability can be classified into several broad categories: Direct impacts caused by weather extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and storms. Indirect health consequences due to the effect of changing environmental and ecological patterns on the transmission of disease. Warming effects in the polar regions. Changes in physical climate systems. National security and sovereignty issues. The following sections outline the ways in which climate variability can have a significant impact on the health and environmental security of different populations, and discusses the social and economic implications of such changes, depending on geographic region and level of vulnerability. DIRECT EFFECT OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS In 2004, about half of the approximately 650 recorded natural catastrophes were windstorm and severe weather events. Harsh storms with torrential rains and high winds caused extensive damage in the United States, the Caribbean and Japan, creating a costly natural catastrophe year for the insurance industry. Scientific studies show evidence of a summer season warming trend in all tropical oceans, which has amounted to an average of 0.5°C since 1970 (Figure 7.1)...
