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Horrific Hurricane Season a Sign of Things to Come

In the past month and a half, the Atlantic coast- line has witnessed the worst hurricane season in recent memory. Over the late summer, Hurricanes Charlie and Francis proved to be two of the most powerful hurricanes on record. Hurricane Ivan ravaged the Carribean as well as Alabama and Florida just over a week ago and has been credited with well over one hun- dred deaths. Last week, four days after Hurricane Jeanne passed Haiti, floods caused by the storm killed close to 700 people. Humanitarian crises have been triggered throughout the Carribean, in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Grenada and Haiti. Damage caused by

hurricanes in the last 45 days is in the tens of.

billions of dollars.

The amount of devastation caused by hurri- canes this year is more than usual, but scien- tists warn that if global warming does not stop, the increased intensity of these viscous storms will become the norm.

Jose Etcheverry, a research analyst in the Climate Change Program of the David Suzuki Foundation, was guarded against declaring this year's nasty hurricane season a direct effect of global warming but suggested the last two months are "a synopsis of what the future holds if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced."

"We should consider this summer a call for action and take proper warning,” he added, warning that the expectation of the scientific community is that the severity of hurricanes will increase as their studies indicate the water temperature will rise.

Warm. waters provide the key ingredient for hurricanes to gain intensity. If the water tem- perature rises as Etcheverry predicts, hurri- canes will become more intense and there will

also be increases in the period of time hurri-

canes can keep their intensity. In general, global warming is expected to produce longer, more powerful hurricanes.

Local Implications —

The consequences will not be limited to the southeastern US and Carribean. Maritimers may have to get used to seeing more hurri- canes in the future. Just last year, the people in the Maritimes were shocked as they were actu- ally hit by a full-fledged Category 2 hurricane which resulted in 8 deaths. Juan may not have been a fluke, but instead a sign of things to come.

"Warmer water means that hurricanes will be able to maintain their strength further North," explains Dr. Brian Wagner, the Chair of the UPEI Chemistry Department. He added that it is possible that the Maritimes could (cont.)

Shawn Murphy

MP for Charlottetown

For assistance, please contact:

OFFICE: 75 Fitzroy Street, Suite 201 Charlottetown, PE C1A 1R6

TELEPHONE: (902) 566-7770 FAX: (902) 566-7780

EMAIL: murphs1c@parl.gc.ca WEB: www.shawnmurphymp.ca

UPEI Cadre September 28, 2004 page 4