Author: 
With all this commotion surrounding Hurricane Florence many wonder what the correlation is between hurricanes and global warming.There has been a lot of claims that global warming is the cause of the excessive amounts of hurricanes that have been forming throughout the past few years. While global warming is a reason for the excess amount of rain fall and flooding, scientists say that global warming does not actually cause the hurricanes. However, it does make the hurricanes more destructive and powerful.
Global warming is defined as an increase in the overall temperature of the atmosphere. The rise of atmospheric temperature is said to be caused by the greenhouse effect which is caused by increased amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases being produced and emitted. Although temperature change is expected, the rate at which it is rising is alarming because it is changing at a pace that is to fast for some living things to adapt too according to National Geographic. In addition to this, global warming can also cause the oceans to heat which can cause certain natural disasters to become more drastic and dangerous such as tropical cyclones and hurricanes.
North Carolina State research meteorologist, Dr. Carl Schreck states that over 30 other hurricanes have passed through the same axis point as Hurricane Florence has but of those 30 plus hurricanes, Hurricane Florence is the only one to make landfall. Schreck states that because of the shift of winds in the atmosphere, Hurricane Florence has shifted more towards North Carolina instead of staying in the Atlantic ocean like other Hurricanes that have gone through that axis point. According to National Geographic, the rain fall from Hurricane florence is expected to be over 50% worse than it would have been if global warming did not exist. The reasoning behind this is because the higher temperatures of the ocean and the higher atmospheric temperatures . To further back the evidence that global warming is a cause for worse hurricanes, the Chicago Tribune states that scientists have found “for every degree the air warms, it can hold nearly 4 percent more water and offer measurably more energy to goose the storm.” Global warming can also cause hurricanes to move slower and stall, causing large floods as seen most recently in Myrtle Beach and other coastal cities.
Even though we cannot stop climate change completely there are many ways that we can slow down the rise in climate. One way to do so is by powering your homes and other buildings with renewable energy. By using solar power or other renewable energy sources you can cut your energy use and greenhouse gas emissions down significantly which can help slow down the rise of atmospheric temperature.
-Kendall Perez
sources:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-climate-change-hurricanes-20180914-story.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-overview/
pictures: