Key Idea 5: What are the
inter-relationships between human activity and climate? (either
Tropical or Temperate)
Short and Longer Term effects of
Low Pressure (TROPICAL or Temperate) Climatic Hazards (e.g. Tornadoes and
Hurricanes) on human activity
Short and Longer Term effects of
High Pressure (TROPICAL or Temperate) Climatic Hazards (e.g. Drought)
on human activity
The effects can be different in
LEDCs (i.e. deaths and injuries) compared with MEDCs (monetary
damage/cost)
The effects include:
~ Physical - changes to the physical
environment - e.g. landslides, vegetation change, desertification,
salinisation.
~ Demographic at both time scales - e.g. deaths, injuries and migration
~ Economic - e.g. losses in the short term such as cessation to
production, and damage in the long term, such as the effects on
economic activity and infrastructure,
insurance.
~ Social effects may include observations on health, homelessness
and bereavement, displaced families, poverty.
Remember KI4 said - The Impact is dependent upon:
1. The severity of the event and also the path/track and spatial
extent of that weather event.
2. The density and distribution of the people and density
and types of human activity in the areas affected.
3. The preparedness and capacity of the authorities and
people to cope with the impact of the event.
Task:
Draw up a table
of short and long term effects under each 'Effect' headings from above.
Also consider LEDC v MEDC differences and also differences between the
different types of hazard and the magnitude / scale of the example
studied.. Cover a range of examples of low and high pressure climatic
hazards. The table framework may look a little like the one below except
you may need as much as one sheet of A4 (landscape) per example.
Case study:
Short Term
effects
(i.e. days and weeks)
Long Term effects
(months and
years)
LP Tornado
MEDC
date place
~ Physical
~ Demographic
~ Economic
~ Social
~ Physical
~ Demographic
~ Economic
~ Social
LP Hurricane LEDC
date place
LP Hurricane MEDC
date place
HP Drought MEDC
date place
HP Drought LEDC
date place
TROPICAL Low Pressure Hazards - short
and long term effects.
" Tornadoes are like a terrorist
whereas hurricanes are like a massed army"
On 22nd October 1998 a tropical storm
formed in the Atlantic. Within 4 days the storm had grown to a category
5 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson scale) gusting at over 320kph. Burt
wind was not the main problem with this monster storm. Mitch made
landfall on the Honduran coast on 30th October stalling in the worst
possible place. Normally when a hurricane hits land it begins to die
out. The warm moist oceanic air is needed to release latent heat of
condensation which drives the hurricane. Unfortunately, Central America
is a thin landmass so the storm was wide enough to still stretch out
over both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans drawing in moist air. The
air also had to rise over the hills of Honduras so there was a 'triple
whammy' - a stalled hurricane, huge amounts of moist air and relief
rainfall leading to record amounts of rainfall in one small region.
The area had also been deforested and had vulnerable soils - so
with a year's rainfall in four days - there were massive floods and
mudslides that wiped away people farms and homes. Rivers protected by
trees (like the Rio Danto) had much less damage.
TROPICAL High Pressure Hazards -
short and long term effects
Drought in Australia Dec 2008 Murray
Darling Basin - MEDC
