A storm is any disrupted condition of the environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body, particularly one that affects its surface and strongly implies severe weather. It is defined by significant disruptions to normal conditions, such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder, and lightning, heavy precipitation such as snowstorm and rainstorm, heavy freezing rain such as an ice storm, strong winds such as tropical cyclone, and windstorms. Storms have the ability to cause death and property damage through storm surge, torrential rain or snow resulting in floods or impassibility of roads, lightening, and flames. (Hettiarachchi, Wasko, & Sharma, 2018). Substantial rainfall and duration systems aid in the alleviation of drought in the areas through which they pass. Heavy snowfall can enable the participation in unique leisure activities that would not be feasible otherwise, like snowboarding and snowmobiling (Shultz, Sands, Kossin, & Gale, 2020).
Increased heat as well as water in the atmosphere and greater sea surface temperatures enhance storm precipitation and may give additional fuel for storm wind speeds to increase. The greatest surface air velocity or the minimal sea level pressure are used to determine the storm’s strength. Climate change has an effect on a number of aspects that contribute to increased storm severity. It results in an increase in the amount of latent heat accessible in warmer air, as well as an increase in the latitudinal (or radically outward) temperature difference, which increases the amount of available potential energy (Klasen, Vithyapathy, Zante, & Burm, 2020). Storms are becoming wetter as a result of climate change. Climate research has established that climate change increased the amount of moisture in the atmosphere during various storms, including Hurricane Sandy, Boulder floods, and the Snowmaggedon.
Storms are expected to become more frequent and intense in all areas of the United States as a result of climate change. These storms have the potential to cause catastrophic floods and other consequences that really can overwhelm or destroy water infrastructure (Lin, Marsooli, & Colle, 2019).
Storms are one of the most hazardous environmental impacts in the world. It was severely affected both humans and environment. Structures and bridges may be destroyed, people may become stranded on the sea, and highways and trains may sustain damage. The immediate consequences of high winds, heavy rain, and storm surges, are power lines and telephone lines become severed, crops are destroyed, while water and sewage systems are disrupted and storm surge floods may wreak, havoc on coastal environments such as beaches and mangroves.. Additionally, food and safe drinking water may be in limited supply and there may be an increase in landslides, which can result in the displacement of people and the closure of highways and railroads. This might create challenges for evacuation and for emergency services (Shen, Morsy, Huxley, Tahvildari, & Goodall, 2019). Storms have the potential to devastate animal habitats, even plants that escape the first flood may perish as a result of being submerged in water. A polluted environment has the potential to contaminate rivers and ecosystems, high-velocity water flow has the potential to uproot trees, silt and sediment may wreak havoc on agricultural crops, and rivers may be broadened. These are some of the impacts on environment due to flooding.
Storms can indeed be severe at any time of year. However, there are methods to prepare your house for the unavoidable storms that will occur sooner or later. Here are some precautions individuals may take to mitigate the potential harm to their house during times of severe weather. Taking these precautions can be the difference between expensive home maintenance and no storm damage at all (Carl, Sabarethinam, & Elliott James, 2018).
Regular tree trimming will result in fewer limbs falling during strong winds or other extreme storms. In addition to that, louvres, tables, chairs, and lawn equipment should be moved inside during high-wind storms to prevent them becoming missiles. Individuals may be able to avoid damage to their windows by erecting hurricane shutters or simply boarding up the windows in the event of a major storm. However, modern windows are more airtight and resistant to leaks and breakage than older windows (Carl, Sabarethinam, & Elliott James, 2018).
Increased frequency and intensity of downpours may jeopardize the quality of source water. Increased storm water runoff has the potential to overrun the design capacity of both individual and integrated storm water management systems. When this occurs, sewer systems may dump untreated or inadequately treated rainfall and sewage straight into neighboring bodies of water, posing health and environmental risks (Bai, Zhao, Zhang, & Zeng).
According to the above-stated ways, people and the government can adapt to the storms that are due to climate change by decreasing the low impacts to humans and the environment.
References
Ahadzie, D. K., Mensah, H., & Simpeh, E. (2021). Impact of floods, recovery, and repairs of residential structures in Ghana: insights from homeowners. GeoJournal, 1-16.
Bai, Y., Zhao, N., Zhang, R., & Zeng, X. (n.d.). Storm water management of low impact development in urban areas based on SWMM. Water. Water, 11(1).
Carl, B., Sabarethinam, K., & Elliott James, R. (2018). Mitigation Strategies to Protect Petrochemical Infrastructure and Nearby Communities during Storm Surge. American Society of Civil Engineers.
Hettiarachchi, S., Wasko, C., & Sharma, A. (2018). Increase in flood risk resulting from climate change in a developed urban watershed–the role of storm temporal patterns. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences.
Klasen, J. M., Vithyapathy, A., Zante, B., & Burm, S. (2020). “The storm has arrived”: the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on medical students. Perspectives on medical education, 181-185.
Lin, N., Marsooli, R., & Colle, B. A. (2019). Lin, N., Marsooli, R., & Colle, B. A. (2019). Storm surge return levels induced by mid-to-late-twenty-first-century extratropical cyclones in the Northeastern United State. Climatic change, 143-158.
Shen, Y., Morsy, M. M., Huxley, C., Tahvildari, N., & Goodall, J. L. (2019). Flood risk assessment and increased resilience for coastal urban watersheds under the combined impact of storm tide and heavy rainfall. Journal of Hydrology.
Shultz, J. M., Sands, D. E., Kossin, J. P., & Gale, S. (2020). Double environmental injustice—climate change, Hurricane Dorian, and the Bahamas. New England Journal of Medicine, 1-3.
