Unit 5

Question 1

What is the definition of extreme weather?

Answer 1

is a weather event that is significantly different from
the average usual weather pattern for a particular location

Question 2

What are some example of extreme weather?

Answer 2

droughts
flash flooding
tropical cyclones
heat waves

Question 3

What is meant by anthropogenic climate change?

Answer 3

human emissions amplify affects of climate change

believed to be the driving force of increased extreme weather but also increasing the frequency of the storms

Question 4

How often do El Niño and El nina events occur?

Answer 4

every 3 to 8 years

Question 5

What is La niña?

Answer 5

this is a more extreme version of the normal conditions, the low pressure is lower and high pressure is higher

Question 6

What is the El Niño conditions?

Answer 6

when atmospheric pressures switch (southern oscillation)

Question 7

What is the case study for an El niño related extreme event?

Answer 7

California and Ethiopia in 2015 and 2016

Question 8

What was the weather patterns like in 2015 to 2016 due to El niño? What were the impacts in California?

Answer 8

excessive rainfall
state wide 30% increase in purchases food
value of insured properties doubled

Question 9

What were the conditions of Ethiopia in 2015 to 2016 due to El niño? What were the impacts in Ethiopia?

Answer 9

severe drought
caused 80% of the harvest to fail, affected 22 million people
led to malnutrition and increased vulnerability of disease

Question 10

Are el niño events becoming more common/severe?

Answer 10

Between 1998 and 2005 there have been fewer but more intense

Question 11

What was the warmest year on record?

Answer 11

2024 it was 1.6 degrees warmer than 1880, breached Paris climate agreement

Question 12

What type of extreme natural events have increased the most and why?

Answer 12

meteorological/hydrological/climatological
increased with climate change e.g. tropical storms, droughts and mild fires

Question 13

How has Europe’s pattern of extreme weather events changed, and which areas experience what kind of climate hazard?

Answer 13

North Western Europe will experience increased winter storms, precipitation and a greater risk of flooding
the Mediterranean region will experience drier conditions, more heat waves and forest fires

Question 14

What are the 4 causes of extreme weather?

Answer 14

1. Cyclonic storms
2. Convective storms
3. Winter Anticyclones
4. Summer Anticyclones

Question 15

What are the impacts of cyclonic storms?

Answer 15

These are wet storms, caused by low pressure systems carried over by the jet stream, causing damage to coastal areas and increased flooding

Question 16

What are the examples and case studies of cyclonic storms in the U.K?

Answer 16

Dudley storm
Storm Xavier - 2013
-1,400 homes flooded
(occurs around 5 times a year in the U.K)

Question 17

On average how much rainfall does U.K receive from cyclonic storms?

Answer 17

60 - 200cm annually

Question 18

What are the impacts of convective storms?

Answer 18

cold and wet weather
very heavy rainfall, can lead to hail or thunderstorms

Question 19

What is an example of a convective storm?

Answer 19

June 23rd 2016, Southern Netherlands storm 3-5 m wide, ruined greenhouses and agricultural land

Question 20

What are the impacts of a winter anticyclone?

Answer 20

flying debris causes damage to property and infrastructure

Question 21

How do winter anticyclones form?

Answer 21

when there is a high pressure North of the U.K, bringing cold Siberian air over the U.K

Question 22

What is an example of a winter anticyclone?

Answer 22

2022 Storm Eunice
120 mph winds
waves over 11m high in some coastal regions
‘Beast from the East’ 2018

Question 23

How does a summer anticyclone work?

Answer 23

large unstable high pressure systems

Question 24

What are the impacts of a summer anticyclone?

Answer 24

no rain = drought, water levels drop, takes longer for these conditions to change

Question 25

What is an example of a summer anticyclone?

Answer 25

Summer 2022 U.K hit 40 degrees, which was record breaking

Question 26

What is the case study for European Heat waves, droughts and forest fires?

Answer 26

2023 Heatwave

Question 27

How were low river flows and lake levels affected by the 2023 heatwave?

Answer 27

Reservoirs used for public water supply and hydroelectric schemes either dried up or ran extremely low The river Danube fell to its lowest level in 100 years

Question 28

What is an example of a forest fire that was caused due to the 2023 heatwave?

Answer 28

in Portugal 215,000 hectares are of forest were destroyed by the fires

Question 29

How where melting glaciers affected by the 2023 heatwave?

Answer 29

extreme snow and glacier melt in the European Alps led to increased rock and ice falls in the mountains

Question 30

What were the human impacts of the 2023 heatwave?

Answer 30

47,000 people died due to the heat wave e.g. in Greece, Italy and Spain

Question 31

What is the case study for European floods as a result of the 2023 heatwave?

Answer 31

Valencia, Spain

Question 32

How many dead in the Spain floods?

Answer 32

more than 200

Question 33

What caused the flood and how is it linked to climate change?

Answer 33

cool air blows over the Mediterranean and picks up warm moisture creating a low pressure system, causes large hail and thunder storms climate change = more frequent and more intense

Question 34

What is the evidence that tropical storms will become more severe?

Answer 34

global temp rise in sea level and land increase in frequency and intensity category 4 going to be increased, talks of adding a 6th category

Question 35

When was the Storm Harvey, and what was so significant about it?

Answer 35

2017, dropped more rain than any hurricane in the USA

Question 36

When was storm Ophelia, and what was so significant about it?

Answer 36

2017, formed further northeast than any other cat 3 Atlantic Hurricane

Question 37

When was storm Irma, and what was so significant about it?

Answer 37

2017, sustained wind speed of 300km/h longer than any storm on record (for 37 hours)

Question 38

What was the case study for the vulnerability of tropical cyclones and extreme weather on small island states?

Answer 38

Vanuatu, South West Pacific Ocean

Question 39

What is the population and size of Vanuatu?

Answer 39

82 volcanic islands, population of 260,000 residents

Question 40

How above sea level are the Vanuatu islands?

Answer 40

only a metre

Question 41

What is the sea level rise annually in Vanuatu?

Answer 41

3mm per year

Question 42

Between 1990 and 2018, what has the total fisheries production decreased by?

Answer 42

75%

Question 43

What are the environmental effects these islands suffer from due to anthropogenic climate change?

Answer 43

ocean temperature rise, and ocean acidification which is threatening the coral reefs, in these regions coastal fishing provides nutrition and employment to the people of these islands

Question 44

What is the average annual loss from extreme weather events in Vanuatu?

Answer 44

17.9% of the total GDP

Question 45

What are the names of the 2 storms that hit Vanuatu and when?

Answer 45

- Cyclone Pam , 2015 - Cyclone Harold, 2020

Question 46

What were the impacts of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu?

Answer 46

destroyed 96% of the islands food crop left 75,000 people homeless economic damage equivalent of 64% of the countries GDP

Question 47

What were the impacts of Cyclone Harold on Vanuatu?

Answer 47

left 87,000 people homeless

Question 48

In 2022, how many natural hazard event occurred in the South West Pacific?

Answer 48

37 recorded

Question 49

What is the case study located in the Indian ocean?

Answer 49

The Maldives

Question 50

How may people lived in the Maldives and what is the size of the area?

Answer 50

300,000 people, consists of 1200 islands

Question 51

What % of the Maldives islands are less than 1m above sea level?

Answer 51

80%

Question 52

What % of GDP does tourism account for in the Maldives?

Answer 52

28%

Question 53

What % of the population does the fishing industry employ in the Maldives?

Answer 53

20%

Question 54

How has the capital of the Maldives attempted to reduce their vulnerability to the threats of climate?

Answer 54

Male, the capital is surrounded by a 3m high wall, which took 14 years to construct and cost $63 million, with Japan paying for 99% of the cost

Question 55

Why are the Maldives trying to construct a new island called Hulu Male?

Answer 55

hopes of transferring 120,000 people across, island is currently 2.1m above sea level (not a permanent solution)

Question 56

What is the case study for dramatic weather variability?

Answer 56

Asia, droughts then flooding in India, Nepal and Bangladesh

Question 57

In 2016 how many people were affected by the failure of the monsoon rains in Asia?

Answer 57

330 million people

Question 58

What % of India faces high to extremely high water stress?

Answer 58

54%

Question 59

In 2017, how many people where affected in South Asia, due to monsoon flooding?

Answer 59

16 million people

Question 60

What were the impacts of the 2017 monsoon floods in South Asia?

Answer 60

- one third of Bangladesh and Nepal were flooded faced severe food shortages, disease being spread from polluted water - 239 died - INDIA - 128 died - NEPAL

Question 61

Why were these south Asian countries so affected by the monsoon flooding?

Answer 61

less economically developed countries

Question 62

By 2030 how many people will live in countries highly exposed to natural hazards?

Answer 62

325 million people

Question 63

In sub Saharan Africa, how many people in poverty will face extreme events?

Answer 63

118 million people in poverty

Question 64

How does being poor correlate with extreme weather?

Answer 64

extreme weather will cause those who are poor to become poorer, leads to ill health, which can keep people in poverty

Question 65

What is an example of how a MEDC adapts to extreme weather effects? What did they do?

Answer 65

Miami beach was raised above sea level in 2017 - had become a $650 million project

Question 66

How did Miami adapt to extreme weather in 2017?

Answer 66

- installed new pumps which could remove 75,000 litres of water per min - new minimum heights per sea wall were establishe

Question 67

What is an example of how a LEDC is adapting to extreme weather events? What happened there?

Answer 67

Natural sea walls in Indonesia in Demale, already lost 3km of land and whole villages to the sea

Question 68

What did Indonesia do to cope with a rise in extreme weather events?

Answer 68

in 2018, wetlands international and ecoshape, launched a project to restore the islands coastal mangrove systems 78% of which had been cleared for urban development building 9km of semi permeable sea dams to mimic mangrove roots

Question 69

How did the adaptation created in Indonesia help the residents tackle issues they had been facing?

Answer 69

within the first year... = sediment built up by 45cm, erosion was stalled = local shrimp farmers, who were taught sustainable aquaculture, their income triple