Katrina ‘Could Soon Happen Every Other Year’

[marmar]

from truthdig:


Katrina ‘Could Soon Happen Every Other Year’

Posted on Mar 19, 2013
By Alex Kirby, Climate News Network


LONDON—Extreme storm events on the scale of Hurricane Katrina which caused widespread damage in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 will occur far more often because of climate change, a new study says.

The research says the threat from extremely damaging hurricane-induced storm surges in the Atlantic will increase significantly as global temperatures rise.

Hurricanes are very sensitive to temperature changes, and the number of Katrina-magnitude storms may double because of the increase in global temperatures, the researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Storm surges are localised increases in sea level, brought about by extreme low pressure, which causes the sea to rise in a dome underneath. These surges sometimes run ashore at high tide and devastate local populations. With Hurricane Katrina, it was the surge that caused the widespread coastal flooding of New Orleans. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/katrina_could_soon_happen_every_other_year_20130319/

[Mnemosyne]

1. Thanks marmar. Guess people will discuss it more once shit hits fan again. nt

[siligut]

2. Katrina is a bad example to use

Katrina was so bad because of the levies. Just saying increased hurricanes with increased intensity would be better.