21/10/2005
- Man braves flood waters in his destroyed village during
the aftermath of Hurricane Stan. Hundreds of people have
been killed and thousands left homeless by extensive flooding
in Mexico.
International — After Katrina, Rita, and Stan, Hurricane
Wilma is sweeping through the Caribbean, crossing Mexico's
Yucatan Peninsula, brushing Western Cuba and then predicted
to make a sharp right turn and head straight for Florida.
Mexico is next in the path of Wilma, having just suffered
extensive flooding, landslides and loss of life due to Hurricane
Stan. On Wednesday 19 Oct, Wilma was measured as the strongest
hurricane every recorded. The 2005 North Atlantic hurricane
season has been one of the most intense since records began
in 1851. Only 1969 had as many hurricanes as this year.
Out of names
Apparently the body responsible for
naming hurricanes will have to start with the Greek alphabet
if there is a new hurricane this season, having run out
of suitable letters in the alphabet to name hurricanes
in 2005.
Unparalleled destruction due to hurricanes
and the Amazon Rainforest suffering severe drought might
be providing a little peek into our future shaped by global
warming. A warmer world will experience many more extreme
weather events like droughts, storms and floods.
According to the 2001 Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, hurricanes are predicted to continue
becoming more intense and more damaging, with stronger
winds and more rain - because of global warming. Extreme
weather has been around long before humans started heating
up the planet - but we cannot afford to stand by while
hurricanes - the most extreme storms on the planet, gather
strength.
While hurricanes and droughts hit
the headlines and thousands of people lose their lives
there is strangely little news about the urgent international
action required to tackle global warming.
Global gamble
We could wait with our fingers crossed,
hoping the worst of the predictions don't come true, although
with every passing week, events and the evidence stack
up to suggest it's the worst possible option for the planet.
The solutions are here - clean renewable
energy and energy efficiency measures can be implemented
now and this must be better than taking a gamble with
the planet - as the last few weeks have shown we would
certainly lose that gamble, big time. |
