Reflection on the Extreme Weather
作者：文譯瑱 Wen, Yi-Tian（臺大華語教學碩士學程生）
In the video, it briefly mentioned the extreme weather that we have experienced so far. Take the tornadoes that happened in the US recently, for instance. Researchers have noticed a rising rate of tornadoes in the past century, and the scale of it is only increasing tremendously. Although residents are more adaptable to disasters than previous generations, the effects of tornadoes cannot be underestimated due to the death toll they cause. In addition to tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons have also been recorded to increase in energy level due to the supply of warm water. For example, Hurricane Sandy struck the US twice with the aid of the Gulf of Mexico, and there were still other places experiencing typhoons for the first time in history, such as Singapore, which is located within the latitudes of 5-10 degrees north and south. Besides, the unexpected heavy rainfall in India was another extreme weather event in Asia. It was reported that several people took advantage of the last month of the dry season to visit the Himalayas but encountered catastrophic rain on their way home and were trapped in the local village for weeks. Worse still, the wildfires in the woods of Australia were reported to be more frequent than usual, and the heavy smoke affected visibility. Meanwhile, in California, the longest drought was tormenting both the inhabitants and the animals.
After watching the video, I was shocked that the weather system had changed greatly due to global warming. I was thinking about predicting extreme weather beforehand, how to deal with worsening air quality, and coping with rainfall in Taiwan.
Speaking of predicting extreme weather in advance, scientists have installed a machine to predict the El Niño phenomenon in Australia. El Niño is the warm phase of the Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which mostly occurs during Christmas in the South Pacific. It is recorded that catches decrease tremendously and rainfall increases in Peru, while Indonesia might experience unexpected drought. On the contrary, La Niña, which is the reverse of El Niño, causes the weather to be much more severe than usual. Researchers have detected the temperature of the currents, air pressure, and wind speed on the horizon to forecast the occurrence of El Niño recently. In 2018, the winter in Taiwan was the warmest in history. I think it is pretty important for us to forecast the signs of extreme weather since global warming is exacerbating them.
In addition, I found out that atmospheric warming associated with climate change has the potential to increase ground-level ozone in many regions, presenting challenges for combating the worsening of air quality. The impact of climate change on other air pollutants, such as particulate matter, is still under examination, but there is a correlation between air quality and ozone levels. In a WHO document last year, it was reported that approximately seven million premature deaths were due to the effects of air pollution. One of the greenhouse emissions, methane, is a precursor to ground-level O3, leading to asthma and other respiratory diseases annually. In my opinion, global warming is now a widely recognized issue, and people have little prior knowledge of the effects on air quality. It is high time for us to pay attention to this aspect of human health.
Moreover, the current rainfall in Taiwan is so heavy that it has resulted in floods in the basin areas. I believe the government should install an overall drainage system in every city, and schools should be equipped with gutters on all main roads. I remember that it rained heavily in Hsinchu on May 10th, and it was very inconvenient for students attending classes. I also noticed that there were small puddles in front of every building, which was dangerous for students who stepped on them. It is of great importance that we mitigate climate change by emitting less carbon dioxide or substituting plastic products with bamboo ones and reducing the extraction of crude oil.
In conclusion, there are indeed extreme weather events taking place all around the world, and we have to take action to slow down global warming, whether by predicting it in advance, solving the air quality problem, or addressing heavy rainfall in Taiwan. I believe we are responsible for the sustainability and collective welfare of future generations.
References
Casey, S. C. [director]. (2016).
Extreme Weather. National Geographic.
