More Category 4 and 5 hurricanes hit the U.S. mainland from 2017 to 2021 than from 1963 to 2016. Hurricanes today also last longer than they once did and move slower, multiplying the damage. Rapid intensification used to spin up once a century, but studies show that in the future, it could occur more frequently-especially in waters bordering the East Coast-putting cities like New Orleans, Houston, Tampa, and Charleston, S.C., at higher risk. By 2100, the number of major hurricanes, including a new breed of "ultraintense" Category 5 storms with winds of at least 190 m.p.h., is expected to increase by 20%.
As with most anthropogenic catastrophes, the effects of climate change are compounding. Storm surge now rides on an elevated sea level, flooding coastlines with walls of water more than 25 ft. high (Hurricane Katrina, 2005). Because the atmosphere holds around 8% more water for every 2°F of warming, storms today carry vastly more precipitation-dumping up to 40 in. of rain in a day (Hurricane Harvey, 2017). One example of how the compounding forces of climate change are overwhelming coastlines, according to climate scientist Kerry Emanuel: if Superstorm Sandy had occurred in 1912 instead of 2012, it might not have flooded lower Manhattan.
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Denne historien er fra September 30, 2024-utgaven av Time.
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How Trump Won
THE FORMER PRESIDENT'S RE-ELECTION IS THE NEXT STEP IN A POLITICAL CAREER UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Zak Brown The McLaren Racing CEO on Formula One in the U.S., his team's chase for a championship, and the future propulsion of the automobile
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Say Nothing speaks volumes
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Portrait of the artist in his ninth decade
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No rest for the songs of Wicked
THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST HAS BEEN A FIXTURE in American culture for nearly 125 years. After coming to life in 1900 with L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she rose to prominence onscreen in 1939, portrayed by Margaret Hamilton as a sinister old lady intent on ruining an innocent girl's wish to go home.
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
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BABY TALK
UNSURE ABOUT HAVING KIDS? THERAPIST MERLE BOMBARDIERI CAN HELP YOU FIGURE IT OUT
The many horrors of the Pelicot rape trial
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Health Matters
COVID-19 MAY NOT BE A PUBLIChealth emergency anymore, but you still need your yearly shot. In fact, it seems to peak about twice a year: once during the traditional respiratory-disease season in the fall and winter, and once during summer.
