Questions and Answers
What is the minimum wind speed required for a storm to be classified as a hurricane?
What is the primary source of energy for hurricanes?
What is the term for the low-pressure area formed when warm, moist air rises from the ocean surface?
How many categories are used to classify hurricanes based on their sustained wind speeds?
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What is the term for storms with wind speeds of 119 kmph or higher?
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What is the minimum wind speed required for a hurricane to be classified as a Category 5?
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How long did it take for Beryl to transform from a tropical depression to a Category 4 hurricane?
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What is the term for hurricanes with wind speeds of Category 3 and higher?
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What is the primary reason for the increase in frequency and scale of Arctic wildfires in recent years?
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What is the main consequence of the increased frequency and scale of Arctic wildfires?
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What is the main source of ignition for Arctic wildfires, according to the content?
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What is the average temperature increase in the Arctic region compared to the pre-industrial level?
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What was the total carbon emissions from Arctic wildfires in June, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service?
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Why is it more likely to have thunderstorms over ice-free land than land covered with ice?
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What is the primary concern with regards to Arctic wildfires and climate change?
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What is the consequence of the polar jet stream getting stuck in one place?
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What is the estimated amount of carbon stored in Arctic permafrost?
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What is the consequence of wildfires on permafrost?
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Study Notes
How Climate Change Fuels Hurricanes
- Hurricane Beryl broke records as the earliest storm to reach Category 5 classification during the Atlantic hurricane season.
- The storm caused at least 11 deaths and triggered intense floods and dangerous winds in Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and northern Venezuela.
- Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas, United States, as a Category 1 storm, flooding streets and leaving over two million people without power.
How Hurricanes Are Formed
- Hurricanes, or tropical storms, form over warm ocean waters near the equator.
- Warm, moist air from the ocean surface rises, creating a low-pressure area below.
- Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure rushes into the low-pressure area, rising and becoming warm and moist.
- As warm, moist air rises, it cools down, forming clouds and thunderstorms.
- The system gains strength and momentum using the ocean's heat and evaporating water.
Hurricane Classification
- Storm systems with wind speeds of 119 kmph and above are classified as hurricanes.
- Hurricanes are classified into five categories (Category 1 to Category 5) based on their sustained wind speeds.
- Category 1 hurricanes have winds of 119 to 153 kmph, while Category 5 hurricanes have winds of 252 kmph or higher.
- Storms that reach Category 3 and higher are considered major hurricanes due to their potential to inflict significant damage.
Hurricane Beryl's Development
- Beryl emerged as a tropical depression with winds of 56.3 kmph on June 28.
- Within 24 hours, Beryl transformed into a hurricane and rapidly intensified to become a Category 4 hurricane over the next 24 hours.
Arctic Wildfires: A Threat to the World
- High-intensity wildfires have erupted in the Arctic for the third time in five years, with a majority of fires in Sakha, Russia, where 160+ wildfires burned nearly 460,000 hectares of land up to June 24.
- The June monthly total carbon emissions from the wildfires reached 6.8 megatonnes of carbon, the third highest of the past two decades.
Why Have Arctic Wildfires Become Worse?
- The Arctic has warmed roughly four times as fast as the world, with an average temperature increase of 3°C above 1980 levels.
- This fast-paced warming has led to more frequent lightning, increasing the likelihood of wildfires.
- Soaring temperatures have slowed down the polar jet stream, causing intense heatwaves that can lead to more wildfires.
How Can Arctic Wildfires Spike Global Warming?
- Wildfires release heat-trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
- Arctic permafrost holds around 1,700 billion metric tons of carbon, including methane and CO2, roughly 51 times the amount of carbon released as fossil fuel emissions in 2019.
- Wildfires make permafrost more vulnerable to thawing, destroying upper insulating layers of vegetation and soil, and releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
- A large-scale thawing of the Arctic permafrost would be impossible to stop, releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
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Description
This quiz is about Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 storm on record, and its devastating effects on the Caribbean islands and the US, highlighting the role of climate change.
