Weathering the Storm: The Evolution of Natural Disasters
Natural disasters have always been a part of life on our planet. However, we are seeing more intense, more frequent, and more destructive events year after year. In 2023 alone, we experienced extreme droughts and heatwaves across Europe, record-setting wildfires raging through Canada, intense rains triggering severe flooding in Australia and South America, and, after years of drought left the earth bone-dry, sudden flash floods in the Horn of Africa. This intensification and accelerated frequency of climatic events is caused by a warming earth.
As we see here, the frequency of all types of natural disasters has been steadily on the rise since 1970.
So how exactly does climate change play a role?
All our planet’s systems are interlinked, so when one gets thrown out of balance, it can have a snowball effect on others.
For example:
The Arctic is warming up to four times as fast as the rest of the climate, and it’s subject to an unfortunate feedback loop:
As the snow and ice melt → the land and water absorb more sunlight and heat → this turns a once reflective surface into a highly absorbing one → which leads to more heating → and causes increased melting… It's a vicious cycle.
While some areas are more at risk than others, climate change and natural disasters disproportionately affect the world’s poor. Despite holding significantly less responsibility for it, developing countries are likely to suffer the most as a result of climate change. The effect of climate change on natural disasters depends on the type of event.
Let’s have a look at the most common weather events to understand how...
For example:
The Arctic is warming up to four times as fast as the rest of the climate, and it’s subject to an unfortunate feedback loop:
As the snow and ice melt → the land and water absorb more sunlight and heat → this turns a once reflective surface into a highly absorbing one → which leads to more heating → and causes increased melting… It's a vicious cycle.
While some areas are more at risk than others, climate change and natural disasters disproportionately affect the world’s poor. Despite holding significantly less responsibility for it, developing countries are likely to suffer the most as a result of climate change. The effect of climate change on natural disasters depends on the type of event.
Let’s have a look at the most common weather events to understand how...
|
Floods
As our planet warms, the gradual increase in surface temperature leads to rising sea levels. While melting sea ice would seem an apparent cause of rising sea levels, the main cause of rising sea levels is the melting of land ice, such as glaciers and ice sheets. According to the International Alpine Protection Commission, the Alps alone have lost 50% of their ice volume since 1850! (our Chamonix Campers will know this from seeing the substantial retreat of Mer de Glace & Les Bossons glaciers)
When this land ice melts, it flows into the sea, where, combined with warmer air, it evaporates, providing additional moisture to intensify storms. This heightened moisture content contributes to heavier rainfall and, in some instances, leads to flooding. Often, the result is sudden, intense rainfall causing flash floods, particularly affecting urban areas and regions already grappling with drought. |
|
Tropical Cyclones (Hurricanes)
Tropical cyclones are another natural climate event. The intensity of these cyclones, on the other hand, is partially determined by the temperature of the ocean. A warming ocean generates stronger winds and causes more intense storms. New evidence also suggests that many of these storms are traveling more slowly and going further. Additionally, the season for tropical cyclones is starting earlier.
In July 2023, a super typhoon called Typhoon Doksuri killed 137 people, set rainfall records, and affected the lives of millions of people throughout the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, and China, leaving behind a trail of devastation and causing nearly $16 billion in damages. So while our planet has always had tropical cyclones, climate change is causing windier, wetter, more frequent, and more destructive storms. |
|
Drought
Unlike the others, a drought is a slow, creeping disaster that occurs after a prolonged dry period without sufficient precipitation. They can lead to crop failures, famine, and create climate refugees, where many people are displaced due to unlivable conditions. While many places have yearly dry seasons, climate change is exacerbating and prolonging them. In some regions of Central America, for example, their typically 3-month dry season now lasts 6 months or more. In eastern Africa, the likelihood of droughts has doubled. 2023 saw Somalia’s fifth consecutive failed rainy season, continuing a drought that killed 43,000 people in 2022 alone and has left 8 million people facing famine.
Drought conditions aren't solely caused by a warming planet; human activities, like agriculture, intensify vulnerability. Excessive water use for crop irrigation and livestock pasture accelerates the issue, outpacing the earth's natural replenishment of water. Despite some plants, like cacti, adapting to dry conditions, prolonged droughts lead to habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, heightened wildfire risk, and severe famines. |
|
Wildfires
In some ecosystems (such as forests) low-severity fires can actually be a good thing! They help to clear the canopy so that sunlight reaches the forest floor, clear through dead and decaying matter and enrich the soil, and some plant and animal species have even evolved to depend on fires. However, as climate change makes some regions hotter and drier, it’s exacerbating conditions and prolonging the wildfire season.
Wildfire spread hinges on an ecosystem's conditions, like air and ground moisture and biodiversity. Dense jungles with undergrowth that absorb water slow fires, while in areas with less biodiversity, like in plantations, fires are accelerated. Many of us will remember that 2020 started off ominously, with hundreds of intense bushfires in Australia burning through 243,000 square kilometers and killing more than 1 billion native animals. Part of the reason that these uncontrollable wildfires were so devastating is that they were preceded by Australia’s hottest year on record, leaving the soil and plants exceptionally dry and vulnerable. A warming planet, along with the destruction of crucial ecosystems, intensifies wildfires, posing increased danger to both humans and the environment. |
What do natural disasters have to do with running?
- More frequent, intense rainfall poses dangers for both trail and road running - Sudden flash floods can jeopardize even experienced runners and damage our favorite trails.
- Tropical cyclones in potentially affected areas coincide with trail running season, threatening races and causing trail devastation.
- Dry areas increase the risk of wildfires, endangering entire parks with one spark.
- Wildfires and associated phenomena like smog significantly affect air quality, even miles away, leading to breathing difficulties and long-term health problems.
- Natural disasters, including wildfires, pose risks to trails, running seasons, and the well-being of runners.
- Changing landscapes during runs, such as shortened or rerouted trails, disappearing paths, and environmental transformations like melting glaciers, drying riverbeds, and flooded paths, highlight the ongoing impact of climate change on running environments.
OK... So what can I do to help?
While more frequent and more severe natural disasters are a very real and very scary part of our future, there are some things we can do to mitigate them and protect our environment and our communities!
Broader Level Actions:
- Planting trees on hillsides helps absorb water and reinforces the soil to reduce flood risks.
- Halting deforestation and habitat destruction is crucial in lessening the severity of wildfires - The more diverse an ecosystem, the more resistant it is to natural disasters!
- Significantly and rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
Individual Level Initiatives:
- Let Your Voice Be Heard!! Express the importance of the environment to elected officials through calls, emails, and participation in supporting events.
- Advocate for environmental awareness and climate action by volunteering with organizations like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
- Support events with sustainable initiatives, such as Trees Not Tees, which plants trees for race participants instead of giving out shirts. Trails & Roots proudly partners with Trees Not Tees for each of our Trail Camps.
- Participate in or initiate litter clean-up events and pack up litter on the trails to keep the environment clean.
- Purchase environmentally conscious products from eco-friendly brands to reduce impact and support environmental causes.
We know how hard it is to identify genuinely eco-friendly brands. So, for our next article, we will be diving into the topic of GREENWASHING - shedding light on the tactics employed by some running brands to appear more environmentally conscious than they actually are!
Have a topic you want us to explore?
