Extreme Weather Patterns and Disasters - Essay Example

?El Nino/La Nina, (weather) El Nino/La Nina, (weather) Introduction The two weather patterns are said to result fromchanges in ocean temperatures, in the equatorial pacific. These weather patterns are the opposites of what is commonly known as ENSO cycle. This cycle is a description of changes in temperature between the ocean and atmosphere in the East-central equatorial Pacific (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2013). The two weather patterns generate a significant deviation from the average surface temperatures (NASA, 1985). Consequently, they affect the ocean activity and global weather and climate. Moreover, the two episodes of climate usually last from nine to twelve months. However, sometimes the episodes prolong and may even continue to two years. The usual time of beginning for the episodes is June and August (NOAA, 2013). A peak follows this that usually takes place between December and April. This is followed by a decline in the in the month of May and June of the subsequent year. The period of the episodes also varies but occurs mostly after every three to five years (NOAA, 2013). La Nino is a Spanish word meaning a little boy (NOAA, 2013). The history of this weather phenomena traces its root on the in the 1600s. At this time, the anglers in the coast of South America recognized it. The name was coined due to the appearance of strange warm water in the Pacific Ocean (NOAA, 2013). The name refers to the extensive ocean-atmosphere climate interaction linked to a periodic warming in the sea surface temperature (NOAA, 2013). This occurs across the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific. These effects are also likely to be experienced in other areas. On the other hand, La Nina incident represents periods of below average sea-surface temperatures crossways the east-central Equatorial Pacific (NOAA, 2013). The impact of this episode is the exact opposite of El Nino. A reflection on the weather episodes is of the essence in understanding how human is affected. Effects on Humanity Extreme Weather Patterns One of the ways the weather episodes has affected humanity is through extreme weather patterns. These events correlate with severe weather situation in different regions (World Health Organization (WHO), 2000). Moreover, there is also experience of a prolonged dry spell. Most of the regions that experience this episode include South-east Asia, southern Africa, and Northern Australia. On the other hand, some areas experience heavy rainfalls coupled with flooding in some areas. Such areas include Peru and Ecuador. The dry spell is because of weakened Asian monsoon that is pushed towards the equator in a typical El Nino (WHO, 2000). This is what cause drought and heavy rainfall in the northeast (WHO, 2000). In fact, El Nino effects appear rampant in areas where there are least resources. These areas include Southern Africa, parts of South America, and South East Asia. The effect leads to increased rates of famine in these areas. Disasters Moreover, the weather episodes lead to natural disasters. This has increased the number of people killed, injured, or made homeless. This is due to increased natural disasters. Some of the reason why this is rampant is due to concentration of the population in high-risk areas such as coastal zones and cities (WHO, 2000). These areas also continue to be faced with vulnerabilities due to extreme weather conditions while natural disasters are more extremes during El Nino time. Such examples of El Nino events took place in 1982-83 and 1997-98 (WHO, 2000). Moreover, El Nino results to more deaths due to weather related disasters such as floods and droughts. For example, in 1997, Central Ecuador and Peru suffered from severe amount of rainfall (WHO, 2000). In fact, lives were affected by floods and reduced food supplies (WHO, 2000). Moreover, most of the health facilities in Peru were destroyed due to the disastrous weather pattern. Besides, 1991-92 El Nino brought one of the worst droughts, and more than 100 million people were affected (WHO, 2000). In addition, the 1997 El Nino affected some of the Asian countries. This led to massive forest fires that made many people inhale the smoke, which was a serious health concern. Table 1 El Nino Years 1902-1903 1905-1906 1911-1912 1914-1915 1918-1919 1923-1924 1925-1926 1930-1931 1932-1933 1939-1940 1941-1942 1951-1952 1953-1954 1957-1958 1965-1966 1969-1970 1972-1973 1976-1977 1982-1983 1986-1987 1991-1992 1994-1995 1997-1998 This table indicates the El Nino events in the 20th century. Source: Climate and Water Resource Case Study (n.d.) Diseases Additionally, a link has been established between El Nino and disease. In fact, the cycle of malaria usually increases after five years in countries such as India, Venezuela, and Columbia (WHO, 2000). This has been linked to the influence of El Nino. Moreover, other forms of diseases have been shown to occur due to these episodes. Mosquitoes transmit most of these diseases such as malaria, and rift valley fever (WHO, 2000). In fact, malaria transmission appears sensitive to the prevailing weather conditions. For example, in dry climates, heavy rainfall can make paddles, and this creates a significant breeding place for mosquitoes (WHO, 2000). On the other hand, increased drought may lead to having proper breeding zones for some of the mosquitoes. In fact, the extreme weather patterns have led to increased rate of diseases in areas that had been controlled before. Climate Variability Additionally, the two weather patterns lead to climate variability. Most, the variability leads to a series of extraordinary weather patterns. For example, the episode may result to mild or unusually severe winters. On the other hand, such changes result in weather pattern associated with changes in wind, air pressure, storm tracts, and jet streams (National Weather Service, 2012). Mostly, El Nino and La Nina lead to ineffective weather patterns. Moreover, the weather episodes results in changes, in the Pacific Ocean temperatures. This, in turn, affects the pattern of the tropical rain forest from Indonesia to the west coast of America (National Weather Service, 2012). The changes affect the weather patterns throughout the world. This leads to effect on some of the main activities carried out by human. Such activities include farming and fishing. Consequently, the livelihood is affected mainly in most of the poor communities. Altering Climate Components In addition, the weather episodes cause abnormal effects on the main components of climate. The major component affected is temperature and precipitation. These components have been shown to be affected by El Nino in the past occurrences. In fact, the past incidences of El Nino have changed weather patterns across the equatorial Pacific and the rest of the globe (Suplee, 1998). For example, Indonesia and surrounding regions went through a severe drought in El Nino of 1997-98. There were also increased incidences of fire in Sumatra, and Borneo (NASA, 1985). This made the area inhabitable for human for a long period. Moreover, in Malaysia drivers were forced to use their headlights at noon (Suplee, 1998). Moreover, the fog extended thousands of miles to the west limiting visibility for over half a mile (Suplee, 1998). On the other hand, temperature rose to an unprecedented level. For example, in Mongolia it reached a high of 42 degrees Celsius (Suplee, 1998). Moreover, the rainfall in some areas was higher than expected. For example, in Kenya rainfall was 40 inches above the expected level while other areas especially in central Europe were ravaged by floods. There was also monsoon and cyclones in Madagascar. In the United States, the mudslides and flash floods were rampant in some regions (Suplee, 1998). This was followed by storms in the Gulf Coast and tornadoes in Florida. In fact, the effects of these weather episodes were the worst as experienced in other years. Man Activities On the other hand, the weather incidences affect human activities. Most of these activities are related to agriculture. For example, El Nino has turned Australia into a land of drought and flood rains. This has affected the man activities of producing crops in the region. For example, in 1791 the British settlers in the region were caught unaware by the variable climate. This caused their crops to fail and had to rely on food export from Cape Town (Nicholls, 1998). Moreover, famines have occurred because of the episode (Nicholls, 1998). A classical example was the El Nino of 1877 that resulted to the death of over nine million people in China and eight million in India (Nicholls, 1998). Implications The two climate episodes are likely to have serious implications in the future. This is because in the future human population is expected to increase significantly. Likewise, the weather episodes are expected to increase in future. This means there will be increased floods, drought, and diseases. This puts the increased human population at risk. This is because diseases such as Malaria and Dengue fever will affect more people. On the other hand, floods and hurricanes will affect most of the human habitats in the coastal areas. Therefore, more need to be done in the area of weather forecast. This will help in cautioning human from the devastating consequences of the weather episodes. Figure 1 Hurricane Linda: This happened during an El Nino and was a strong pacific storm in September 1997. Source: National Geographic Magazine (n.d). Conclusion There is clear evidence that the world has experienced and will continue to experience erratic weather patterns. This is because both El Nino and La Nina have affected the world in countless ways without the world able to exercise any form of control. The two weather patterns appear not favoring most of the human activities in the world. This is true based on the past, current, and future events that take place. Consequently, the two weather episodes have affected humanity in various ways. First, humanity has been affected by extreme weather patterns. This has resulted to floods, drought, and hurricanes that have affected human ways of living. On the other hand, the extreme weather patterns have affected human health in various ways. This has occurred through the increased spread of diseases and vectors transmitting those diseases. A classical example has been increased spread of diseases transmitted by different forms of mosquitoes. The weather episodes have also affected other components of weather such as temperature and precipitation. This has resulted to increased incidences of fire in different parts of the world. Moreover, this has affected human activities as some of the areas are made inhabitable. Likewise, the increased precipitation has led to increased snows in different parts of the world. This impedes human activity especially in the roads. These effects call for proper preparation so that their effects on man can be reduced. References Climate and Water Resource Case Study. (n.d.). El Nino and La Nina. Retrieved from http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/mguidry/Unnamed_Site_2/Chapter%204/Chapter4D.html NASA. (1985). El Nino, La Nina, and Rainfall. Retrieved from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/enso.php National Geographic Magazine. (n.d.). El Nino/La Nina. Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/elnino/mainpage3.html National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2013). Ocean Temperatures. Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html National Weather Service. (2012). About El Nino and La Nina. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensofaq.shtml Nicholls, N. (1998). El Nino of droughts and flooding rains. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/elnino/story.htm Suplee, C. (1998). El Nino/La Nina. Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/elnino/mainpage.html World Health Organization (WHO). (2000). El Nino and Its Health Impacts. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact192.html Read More

 

Read More