Unit-2

Natural and Man-made disasters

• Natural and human-caused disasters affect thousands of people each year. Major adverse
events such as these have the potential to cause catastrophic loss of life and physical
destruction. They are often unexpected and can leave whole communities in shock.
• People who live through a disaster can experience emotional distress. Feelings of anxiety,
constant worrying, trouble sleeping, and other depression-like symptoms are common
responses to disasters before, during, and after the event. Many people are able to “bounce
back” from disasters with help from family and the community, but others may need
additional support to cope and move forward on the path of recovery. Anyone can be at
risk, including survivors living in the impacted areas and first responders and recovery
workers.
Meaning and nature of natural disaster
• Natural disasters are large-scale geological or meteorological events that have the potential
to cause loss of life or property. These types of disasters include:
• Tornadoes and Severe Storms
• Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
• Floods
• Wildfires
• Earthquakes
• Drought
• Severe storms and floods are the most common types of natural disasters. These
meteorological events are occasionally preceded by presidential “emergency declarations”
requiring state and local planning prior to the event, such as evacuations and protection of
public assets.
Flood
• Floods are one of the most common hazards. They occur when land that is normally dry
experiences an overflow of water. Several events cause floods, including hurricanes and
tropical storms, failed dams or levees, and flash floods that occur within a few minutes or
hours of excessive rainfall.
• Although coastal areas are more vulnerable to floods, particularly during hurricane season,
they can occur anywhere and can vary in size and duration. Even very small streams,
gullies, and creeks that may appear harmless in dry weather can flood.
• The physical destruction of a flood can vary, with some carrying away everything in its
path, including houses, bridges, cars, and even people who may be trapped or wading in
water. Further, the economic loss from hazardous flood conditions can be significant
• It’s normal for people to experience emotional distress during a flood. Simply anticipating
the possibility of what could be lost or destroyed during a flood can cause people to
experience overwhelming anxiety.
• Floods can happen during heavy rains, when ocean waves come on shore, when snow melts
quickly, or when dams or levees break. Damaging flooding may happen with only a few
inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. Floods can occur within minutes or
over a long period, and may last days, weeks, or longer. Floods are the most common and
widespread of all weather-related natural disasters.

Flash floods are the most dangerous kind of floods, because they combine the destructive
power of a flood with incredible speed. Flash floods occur when heavy rainfall exceeds the
ability of the ground to absorb it. They also occur when water fills normally dry creeks or
streams or enough water accumulates for streams to overtop their banks, causing rapid rises
of water in a short amount of time. They can happen within minutes of the causative
rainfall, limiting the time available to warn and protect the public.
• A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry. Floods are an area
of study in the discipline of hydrology. They are the most common and widespread natural
severe weather event.
• Floods can look very different because flooding covers anything from a few inches of water
to several feet. They can also come on quickly or build gradually.
• According to National Severe Storms Laboratory, there are five types of floods. They
include:
River Flood
Coastal Flood
Storm Surge
Inland Flooding
Flash Flood
What is River Flooding?
• A river flood occurs when water levels rise over the top of river banks. This flooding can
happen in all river and stream channels. This includes everything from small streams to the
world’s largest rivers.
• Causes of River Flooding
• River flooding typically happens for four reasons. They are:
• Excessive rain from tropical storm systems making landfall
• Persistent thunderstorms over the same area for extended periods
• Combined rainfall and snowmelt
• Ice jam
• River floods can happen suddenly or slowly. Sudden river flooding events occur more often
on smaller rivers, rivers with steep valleys, rivers that flow for much of their length over
impermeable terrain, and normally dry channels.
• On the other hand, low-rising river floods typically occur in large rivers with large
catchment areas. In case you didn’t know this already, a catchment area is any area of
land where precipitation collects and runs off into a common outlet.
What is a Coastal Flood?
• What is Coastal Flooding?
• A coastal flood is the inundation of normally dry land areas along the coast with seawater.
• Causes of Coastal Flooding
• Coastal flooding is typically a result of a combination of sea tidal surges, high winds, and
barometric pressure.
• These conditions typically come from storms at sea like:
• Tropical cyclones
• Tsunami
• Higher-than-average tides
What is Inland Flooding?
• An inland flood is flooding that occurs inland or not in a coastal area. Therefore, coastal
flooding and storm surge are not inland floods.
• Causes of Inland Flooding
 • Rainfall is almost always to blame for inland floods. Rain causes inland flooding in two
ways. It can happen with steady rainfall over several days or it can happen because of a
short and intense period of rainfall.
• Snowmelt also causes inland floods, although rainfall is a more common cause.
• Another way inland flooding happens is when water ways get blocked by debris, ice, or
dams.
What is a Flash Flood?
• What is a Flash Flood?
• A flash flood is flooding that begins within 6 hours, and often within 3 hours, of heavy
rainfall (or other cause).
• What Causes Flash Floods?
• Flash floods can happen for several reasons.
• Most flash floods happen after extremely intense rainfall from severe thunderstorms over
a short period of time (normally 6 hours or less). There are two key elements to determine
is flash flooding is likely:
• Rainfall rate
• Rainfall duration
• Dangers of Flash Floods
• Flash floods are extremely powerful. They have enough force to roll boulders, tear trees
from the ground, destroy buildings and bridges, and scour out new channels. This type
of flood is characterized by raging torrents that rip through river beds, urban streets, or
canyons, wiping out everything in their paths. With heights reaching 30 feet, flash floods
can completely cover communities.
What Causes Flooding?
• Heavy rainfall is the simplest cause of flooding. When there is too much rain or it happens
too fast, there just isn’t a place for it to go. This can result in floods like flash flooding.
• Overflowing rivers are another cause of floods. You don’t necessarily need heavy rains
though to experience river flooding. As we mentioned before, river flooding can happen
when there is debris in the river or dams that block the flow of the water.
• Speaking of dams, broken dams are another cause of flooding. Older infrastructure can
fail when heavy rains come and water levels rise. When dams break, they unleash torrents
of water on unsuspecting households. This is part of what happened when Hurricane
Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005.
 • Storm surge and tsunamis also cause flooding. Storm surges from hurricanes and other
tropical systems can cause sea levels to rise and cover normally dry coastal areas in several
feet of water. Tsunamis on the other hand are giant waves caused by earthquakes or
underwater volcanic eruptions. As these waves move inland, they build height and can push
a lot of water inland in coastal areas.
• Channels with steep banks are also to blame for flooding. Flooding often occurs when
there is fast runoff into lakes, rivers, and other basins. This is often the case with rivers and
other channels that feature steep sides
• A lack of vegetation can cause flooding. Vegetation can help slow runoff and prevent
flooding. When there is a lack of vegetation, there is little to stop water from running off
and overflowing riverbanks and streams
Flooding Effects
Loss Of Lives
The gravest effect of flooding is death. In fact, flooding is the number one severe weather killer.
Floods have claimed thousands of lives throughout history. But how does flooding kill?
Floods kill by carrying people away in fast-moving water or drowning them. It only takes six
inches of water to wash a person away. Floods can also kill people by destroying buildings and
creating unsafe environments. One often-overlooked deadly effect of flooding comes from
waterborne illnesses.
Property Damage
Since it only takes two feet of flood water to wash a car away, flooding can also cause great loss
of property. Surely, you’ve seen images of cars floating away in flood waters. This is why it is so
important to avoid flooded areas when driving. You don’t want to be in your car when it gets
washed away in the flood!
Flooding also causes property damage to buildings by blowing out windows, sweeping away
doors, corroding walls and foundations, and sending debris into infrastructure at a fast pace. Not
to mention the furniture and items inside a home or business that are damaged when flood waters
make it inside.
Economic Impacts
The economic impact of flooding can be devastating to a community. This comes from damage
and disruption to things like communication towers, power plants, roads, and bridges. This brings
business activities in an area to a standstill. Oftentimes, major flooding results in dislocation and
dysfunction of normal life long after flood waters recede.
Flooding hinders economic growth and development because of the high cost of relief and
recovery associated with floods.
In frequently flooded areas, there is less likely to be any investment in infrastructure and other
developed activities.
Psychosocial Flooding Effects
Flooding can also create lasting trauma for victims. The loss of loved ones or homes can take a
steep emotional toll, especially on children. Displacement from one’s home and loss of livelihood
can cause continuing stress and produce lasting psychological impacts.
Drought
Drought is a prolonged dry period in the natural climate cycle that can occur anywhere in the
world. It is a slow-onset disaster characterized by the lack of precipitation, resulting in a water
shortage. Drought can have a serious impact on health, agriculture, economies, energy and the
environment. An estimated 55 million people globally are affected by droughts every year, and
they are the most serious hazard to livestock and crops in nearly every part of the world. Drought
threatens people’s livelihoods, increases the risk of disease and death, and fuels mass migration.
Water scarcity impacts 40% of the world’s population, and as many as 700 million people are at-
risk of being displaced as a result of drought by 2030.
Rising temperatures caused by climate change are making already dry regions drier and
wet regions wetter. In dry regions, this means that when temperatures rise, water evaporates more
quickly, and thus increases the risk of drought or prolongs periods of drought. Between 80-90%
of all documented disasters from natural hazards during the past 10 years have resulted from
floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, heat waves and severe storms.
Cloud burst
• cloudburst, a sudden, very heavy rainfall, usually local in nature and of brief duration.
Most so-called cloudbursts occur in connection with thunderstorms. In these storms there are
violent uprushes of air, which at times prevent the condensing raindrops from falling to the ground.
A large amount of water may thus accumulate at high levels, and if the upward currents are
weakened the whole of this water falls at one time.
• Cloudbursts are especially common in mountainous areas. This is probably because the
warm air currents of a thunderstorm tend to follow the upward slope of a mountain. The
effects of heavy rain are especially striking on mountain slopes because the falling water
is concentrated in valleys and gulleys. Mountain cloudbursts cause sudden and destructive
floods.
• Several studies have shown that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity
of cloudbursts in many cities across the globe. In May, the World Meteorological
Organization noted that there is about a 40% chance of the annual average global
temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level in at least one of the
next five years. It added that there is a 90% likelihood of at least one year between 2021
and 2025 becoming the warmest on record and dislodge 2016 from the top rank.
 Kedarnath cloud burst
• The massive flood which took place in the Dhauli Ganga river in the Chamoli district of
Uttarakhand came as a grim reminder of the 2013 catastrophe in Kedarnath which led to
widespread devastation in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region.
• The torrential rains of unseen magnitude had struck Kedarnath on 16-17 June back in 2013
resulting in several people losing their lives, their loved ones and their homes.
• The banks of the Chorabari lake in Kedarnath collapsed due to a cloudburst that had
resulted in a major flash flood causing widespread destruction in Uttarakhand and led to
heavy losses to infrastructure, agriculture lands, human and animal lives.
• The disastrous Kedarnath Flood wreaked great havoc in the Kedarnath Valley and the other
parts of Uttarakhand.
• The flash flood was triggered by heavy rain and cloudburst on the massive glacial lake.
However, the Kedarnath Temple that is built on the bank of Mandakini and the
mythological Saraswati river was not damaged.
• Tremendous cloudbursts were the prime reason for this Kedarnath Flood Tragedy. Due to
its proximity to the surroundings of Chorabari Glacier, the area around the Kedarnath
Temple suffered unspeakable damage.
Reasons
• The overflow of the Mandakini River
• Cloudburst & Heavy Rain in Kedarnath
• The overflow of Chorabari Lake
• One reason is the Overflow of the Mandakini river. And because of this flash flood
destroyed the area of Kedarnath.
• As per the sources, Kedarnath is an area of difficult weather conditions. And so, the western
disturbance from the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. It carried moisture in the air while
passing the Arabian Sea.
• And there was also cyclonic storm which was originated over the Bay of Bengal. And it
went till the Kedarnath and surprisingly these lead to cloud formation.
• Because of these two clouds, one from the Caspian Sea and the second from the Bay of
Bengal attacked each other which led to massive cloudbursts.
Earthquake
• What is an earthquake?
 • An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one
another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below
the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location
directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
• Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in
the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake
is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called
the mainshock. Mainshocks always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller
earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the
size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after
the mainshock!
What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?
• The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. The
crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet.
• But this skin is not all in one piece – it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering
the surface of the earth. Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around,
sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic
plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries
are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these
faults. Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate
keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of
the faults and there is an earthquake.

Why does the earth shake when there is an earthquake?

• While the edges of faults are stuck together, and the rest of the block is moving, the energy
that would normally cause the blocks to slide past one another is being stored up. When
the force of the moving blocks finally overcomes the friction of the jagged edges of the
fault and it unsticks, all that stored up energy is released. The energy radiates outward from
the fault in all directions in the form of seismic waves like ripples on a pond. The seismic
waves shake the earth as they move through it, and when the waves reach the earth’s
surface, they shake the ground and anything on it, like our houses and us!
How are earthquakes recorded?
• Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make
is called a seismogram. The seismograph has a base that sets firmly in the ground, and a
heavy weight that hangs free. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of
the seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead, the spring or string
that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the
shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded.
 How do scientists measure the size of earthquakes?
• The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of slip on the
fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a measuring tape since
faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s surface. So how do they measure an
earthquake? They use the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the
surface of the earth to determine how large the earthquake was. A short wiggly line that
doesn’t wiggle very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line that wiggles a
lot means a large earthquake. The length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and
the size of the wiggle depends on the amount of slip.
• The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There is one magnitude for each
earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an earthquake, and this
varies depending on where you are during the earthquake.
Where do earthquakes occur?
• If we look at the pattern of where earthquakes occur around the world, it is clear that most
of the activity is concentrated in a number of distinct earthquake belts; for instance, the
edge of the Pacific Ocean, or in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Over 80 per cent of large
earthquakes occur around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, an area known as the ‘Ring of
Fire’; this where the Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the surrounding plates. The
Ring of Fire is the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world.
• The Earth under our feet has many faults caused by our turbulent geological past. Some of
these faults can be observed at the surface and mapped by geologists; others are hidden
many kilometres below the surface. These faults are places where earthquakes can occur.
 Landslides
• A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope.
Landslides are a type of "mass wasting," which denotes any down-slope movement of soil
and rock under the direct influence of gravity. The term "landslide" encompasses five
modes of slope movement: falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows. These are further
subdivided by the type of geologic material (bedrock, debris, or earth). Debris flows
(commonly referred to as mudflows or mudslides) and rock falls are examples of common
landslide types.
• Almost every landslide has multiple causes. Slope movement occurs when forces acting
down-slope (mainly due to gravity) exceed the strength of the earth materials that compose
the slope. Causes include factors that increase the effects of down-slope forces and factors
that contribute to low or reduced strength. Landslides can be initiated in slopes already on
the verge of movement by rainfall, snowmelt, changes in water level, stream erosion,
changes in ground water, earthquakes, volcanic activity, disturbance by human activities,
or any combination of these factors. Earthquake shaking and other factors can also induce
landslides underwater. These landslides are called submarine landslides. Submarine
landslides sometimes cause tsunamis that damage coastal areas.
What Causes Landslides?
• Landslides have three major causes: geology, morphology, and human activity.
• Geology refers to characteristics of the material itself. The earth or rock might be weak
or fractured, or different layers may have different strengths and stiffness.
• Morphology refers to the structure of the land. For example, slopes that lose
their vegetation to fire or drought are more vulnerable to landslides. Vegetation holds soil
in place, and without the root systems of trees, bushes, and other plants, the land is more
likely to slide away.
• A classic morphological cause of landslides is erosion, or weakening of earth due to water.
In April 1983, the town of Thistle, Utah, experienced a devastating landslide brought on
by heavy rains and rapidly melting snow. A mass of earth eventually totaling 305 meters
wide, 61 meters thick, and 1.6 kilometers long (1,000 feet wide, 200 feet thick, and one
mile long) slid across the nearby Spanish Fork River, damming it and severing railroad and
highway lines. The landslide was the costliest in U.S. history, causing over $400 million
in damage and destroying Thistle, which remains an evacuated ghost town today.
• Human activity, such as agriculture and construction, can increase the risk of a
landslide. Irrigation, deforestation, excavation, and water leakage are some of the common
activities that can help destabilize, or weaken, a slope.
Types of Landslides
• There are many ways to describe a landslide. The nature of a landslide's movement and the
type of material involved are two of the most common.
• Landslide Movement
There are several ways of describing how a landslide moves. These include falls, topples,
translational slides, lateral spreads, and flows.
In falls and topples, heavy blocks of material fall after separating from a very steep slope
or cliff. Boulders tumbling down a slope would be a fall or topple.
In translational slides, surface material is separated from the more stable underlying layer
of a slope. An earthquake may shake the loosen top layer of soil from the harder earth
beneath in this type of landslide.
A lateral spread or flow is the movement of material sideways, or laterally. This happens
when a powerful force, such as an earthquake, makes the ground move quickly, like a
liquid.
• Landslide Material
A landslide can involve rock, soil, vegetation, water, or some combination of all these. A
landslide caused by a volcano can also contain hot volcanic ash and lava from the eruption.
A landslide high in the mountains may have snow and snowmelt.
Volcanic landslides, also called lahars, are among the most devastating type of landslides.
The largest landslide in recorded history took place after the 1980 eruption of Mount St.
Helens in the U.S. state of Washington. The resulting flow of ash, rock, soil, vegetation
and water, with a volume of about 2.9 cubic kilometers (0.7 cubic miles), covered an area
of 62 square kilometers (24 square miles).
• Other Factors
Another factor that might be important for describing landslides is the speed of the
movement. Some landslides move at many meters per second, while others creep along at
a centimeter or two a year. The amount of water, ice, or air in the earth should also be
considered. Some landslides include toxic gases from deep in the Earth expelled by
volcanoes. Some landslides, called mudslides, contain a high amount of water and move
very quickly. Complex landslides consist of a combination of different material or
movement types.
Avalanches
A MASS OF SNOW SLIDING, TUMBLING, OR FLOWING DOWN AN INCLINED
SURFACE.
avalanche, a mass of material moving rapidly down a slope. An avalanche is typically triggered
when material on a slope breaks loose from its surroundings; this material then quickly collects
and carries additional material down the slope. There are various kinds of avalanches, including
rock avalanches (which consist of large segments of shattered rock), ice avalanches (which
typically occur in the vicinity of a glacier), and debris avalanches (which contain a variety of
unconsolidated materials, such as loose stones and soil). Snow avalanches, the subject of the
remainder of this article, constitute a relatively common phenomenon in many mountainous areas.
The size of a snow avalanche can range from a small shifting of loose snow (called sluffing) to the
displacement of enormous slabs of snow. In a slab avalanche, the mass of descending snow may
reach a speed of 130 km (80 miles) per hour and is capable of destroying forests and small villages
in its path. Avalanches kill about 150 people a year in North America and Europe. Most of those
killed are backcountry skiers, climbers, snowshoers, and snowmobilers who accidentally trigger
an avalanche and become buried in the snow. The number of North American fatalities has risen
with the increasing popularity of winter sports. Avalanches also have been triggered intentionally
in warfare to kill enemy troops. In World War I, during fighting in the Alps on the Austrian-Italian
front in December 1916, more than 10,000 troops were killed in a single day by avalanches
triggered by artillery fired onto slopes of unstable snow.
Snow slides can start on mountain slopes with at least a 30-degree incline, but they occur most
frequently on slopes of 35-50 degrees. Although avalanches need a slope to start, large
avalanches accelerate downhill with sufficient momentum to cross flat terrain for short
distances.

In some cases, a large chunk of ice or small glacier breaks off a mountainside, gathering
snow and momentum and rushing down in a dangerous steamroll. One of the most deadly
avalanches on Mount Everest, which killed 16 Sherpas, occurred when an ice mass the weight
of 657 buses plummeted down on top of hikers.

Features of avalanches
Avalanches contain three main features: the starting zone, the avalanche track, and the runout
zone. Avalanches launch from the starting zone. That’s often the most unstable part of the stope,
and generally higher on the mountain.

Once the avalanche starts to slide, it continues down the avalanche track, the natural path it
follows downhill. After avalanches, large clearings or missing chutes of trees provide clues to
an avalanche’s trajectory.
The avalanche finally comes to a stop at the bottom of a slope, in the runout zone, where the
snow and debris pile up.

What conditions cause an avalanche?

Avalanches are most common during the winter, December to April in the Northern Hemisphere,
but they do occur year-round.

To get an avalanche, you need a surface bed of snow, a weaker layer that can collapse, and an
overlaying snow slab. The highest risk period is during and immediately after a snow storm.
Underlying snowpack, overloaded by a quick deluge of snow, can cause a weak layer beneath
the slab to fracture naturally.

Human-triggered avalanches start when somebody walks or rides over a slab with an underlying
weak layer. The weak layer collapses, causing the overlaying mass of snow to fracture and start
to slide. Earthquakes can also trigger strong avalanches.

By digging a snow pit or profile, scientists can look at the composition of different snow layers
that formed during a season, sort of like looking at the layers of a cake. The size and shape of
the snowflakes in each layer provide clues about the weather events that occurred: big dumps of
snow, drought, rain, a hard freeze, or loose, powdery snow. Larger, looser snow crystals are
weaker, because there are fewer points they can touch to interact with the other snow layers. The
interaction of the snow layers can help predict the chances of an avalanche.

Several factors may affect the likelihood of an avalanche, including weather, temperature, slope
steepness, slope orientation (whether the slope is facing north or south), wind direction, terrain,
vegetation, and general snowpack conditions. Different combinations of these factors can create
low, moderate, or extreme avalanche conditions. Some of these conditions, such as temperature
and snowpack, can change on a daily or hourly basis.

Volcanoes

A volcano is a vent in the Earth’s crust from which eruptions occur. There are about 1500
potentially active volcanoes worldwide. When volcanoes erupt they can spew hot, dangerous
gases, ash, lava and rock that can cause disastrous loss of life and property, especially in heavily
populated areas. Volcanic activities and wildfires affected 6.2 million people and caused nearly
2400 deaths between 1998-2017.

There are different types of volcanic eruptive events, including:

• pyroclastic explosions, with is fast-moving hot gas and volcanic matter

• hot ash releases
• lava flows
 • gas emissions
• glowing avalanches, when gas and ashes release.

Volcanic eruptions can also cause secondary events, such as floods, landslides and mudslides, if
there are accompanying rain, snow or melting ice. Hot ashes can also start wildfires.

Volcanic eruptions can impact climate change through emitting volcanic gases like sulfur dioxide,
which causes global cooling, and volcanic carbon dioxide, which has the potential to promote
global warming.

How Do Volcanoes Erupt?

Deep within the Earth it is so hot that some rocks slowly melt and become a thick flowing
substance called magma. Since it is lighter than the solid rock around it, magma rises and collects
in magma chambers. Eventually, some of the magma pushes through vents and fissures to the
Earth's surface. Magma that has erupted is called lava.

Some volcanic eruptions are explosive and others are not. The explosivity of an eruption depends
on the composition of the magma. If magma is thin and runny, gases can escape easily from it.
When this type of magma erupts, it flows out of the volcano. A good example is the eruptions at
Hawaii’s volcanoes. Lava flows rarely kill people because they move slowly enough for people to
get out of their way. If magma is thick and sticky, gases cannot escape easily. Pressure builds up
until the gases escape violently and explode. A good example is the eruption of
Washington’s Mount St. Helens. In this type of eruption, the magma blasts into the air and breaks
apart into pieces called tephra. Tephra can range in size from tiny particles of ash to house-size
boulders.

Explosive volcanic eruptions can be dangerous and deadly. They can blast out clouds of hot tephra
from the side or top of a volcano. These fiery clouds race down mountainsides destroying almost
everything in their path. Ash erupted into the sky falls back to Earth like powdery snow. If thick
enough, blankets of ash can suffocate plants, animals, and humans. When hot volcanic materials
mix with water from streams or melted snow and ice, mudflows form. Mudflows have buried entire
communities located near erupting volcanoes.

Clearly the destructive potential of volcanoes is tremendous. But the risk to people living nearby
can be reduced significantly by assessing volcanic hazards, monitoring volcanic activity and
forecasting eruptions, and instituting procedures for evacuating populations. In addition,
volcanism affects humankind in beneficial ways. Volcanism provides beautiful scenery,
fertile soils, valuable mineral deposits, and geothermal energy. Over geologic time, volcanoes
recycle Earth’s hydrosphere and atmosphere.
Most magma formed by partial melting of the mantle is basaltic in composition, but, as it ascends,
it assimilates silica, sodium, and potassium from the surrounding host rocks. Volcanic rocks found
where magma erupts to the surface are classified into four major types, or “clans”—
basalt, andesite, dacite, and rhyolite. These rocks are ranked, as can be seen in the table, mainly
by their silica content, which ranges from approximately 50 percent for basalt to approximately 75
percent for rhyolite. As silica content increases, rock types generally become more viscous.
Pyroclastic flows can move at speeds up to 160 km (100 miles) per hour and have temperatures
ranging from 100 to 700 °C (212 to 1,300 °F). They sweep away and incinerate nearly everything
in their path. Smaller pyroclastic flows are often confined to valleys. Large pyroclastic flows may
spread out as a blanket deposit across many hundreds or even thousands of square kilometres
around a major caldera collapse. During the past two million years, the area around Yellowstone
National Park in the western United States has undergone three major caldera collapses involving
pyroclastic eruptions of 280 to 2,500 cubic km (67 to 600 cubic miles) of ash flows and ash falls.
Gas clouds

Even beyond the limit of explosive destruction, the hot, ash-laden gas clouds associated with an
explosive eruption can scorch vegetation and kill animals and people by suffocation. Gas clouds
emitted from fumaroles (volcanic gas vents) or from the sudden overturn of a crater lake may
contain suffocating or poisonous gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen
sulfide, and sulfur dioxide. At Lake Nyos, a crater lake in Cameroon, West Africa, more than
1,700 people were killed by a sudden release of carbon dioxide in August 1986. Scientists theorize
that carbon dioxide of volcanic origin had been seeping into the lake, perhaps for centuries, and
had accumulated in its deep layers. It is thought that some disturbance, such as a
large landslide into the lake, could have triggered the outburst of gas, creating an effervescence
that stirred the lake and started the degassing.

Ash falls

Ash falls from continued explosive jetting of fine volcanic particles into high ash clouds generally
do not cause any direct fatalities. However, where the ash accumulates more than a few
centimetres, collapsing roofs and failure of crops are major secondary hazards. Crop failure can
occur over large areas downwind from major ash eruptions, and widespread famine and disease
may result, especially in poorly developed countries. In the long run, however, the decomposition
of nutrient-rich volcanic fallout is responsible for some of the world’s best soils.

Volcanic eruptions

• A volcano is an opening in a planet or moon’s crust through which molten rock, hot gases,
and other materials erupt. Volcanoes often form a hill or mountain as layers of rock and
ash build up from repeated eruptions.
• Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant, or extinct. Active volcanoes have a recent
history of eruptions; they are likely to erupt again. Dormant volcanoes have not erupted for
a very long time but may erupt at a future time. Extinct volcanoes are not expected to erupt
in the future.
• Inside an active volcano is a chamber in which molten rock, called magma, collects.
Pressure builds up inside the magma chamber, causing the magma to move through
 channels in the rock and escape onto the planet’s surface. Once it flows onto the surface
the magma is known as lava.
• Some volcanic eruptions are explosive, while others occur as a slow lava flow. Eruptions
can occur through a main opening at the top of the volcano or through vents that form on
the sides. The rate and intensity of eruptions, as well as the composition of the magma,
determine the shape of the volcano.
• Volcanoes are found on both land and the ocean floor. When volcanoes erupt on the ocean
floor, they often create underwater mountains and mountain ranges as the released lava
cools and hardens. Volcanoes on the ocean floor become islands when the mountains
become so large they rise above the surface of the ocean.

• On the basis of frequency of eruption, there are active, dormant and extinct or ancient
volcanoes. The volcanoes which erupt fairly frequently as compared to others are active.
Only a few volcanoes remain more or less continually in eruption for long periods, but
intermittent activity is more common. The dormant (from Latin word dromir, meaning, ‘to
sleep’) volcanoes are those in which eruption has not occurred regularly recently.
• These volcanoes undergo long intervals of repose during which all external signs of activity
cease. Those volcanoes in which no eruption has been recorded in historic times are said
to be extinct. Before a volcano becomes extinct, it passes through a waning stage during
which steam and other hot gases and vapours are exhaled. These are known as fumaroles
or solfataras.
• Sometimes, a volcano thought to have become extinct suddenly becomes active. The
Barren Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India, Vesuvius (Italy) and Krakatao
(Indonesia) are such examples. The Barren Island suddenly started fuming out hot gases
and lava in recent years, while the Krakatao volcano became active in 1883, killing 36,000
people in West Java. It is reported that the sound of explosion was heard as far as Turkey
in the west and Tokyo in the east. Today, Krakatao is no more than a low island with a
caldera lake inside its crater.

Causes of Volcanic Activity

The radioactive substances inside the earth keep generating a lot of heat through decomposition
and chemical reactions. As a result, the material in the earth’s interior is in constant flux. This
molten, semi-molten and sometimes gaseous material appears on earth at the first available
opportunity. This opportunity is provided by weak zones along the earth’s surface. The
earthquakes, for instance, may expose fault zones through which magma may escape. Because of
high pressure in the earth’s interior, the magma and gases escape with great velocity as the pressure
is released through eruptions.

There are several different causes for a volcano to erupt which all fundamentally come down to a
pressure change within the volcano which forces the magma to overflow the chamber it is held in.
The most common type of eruption is caused by the movement of tectonic plates.

When one is pushed under the other the magma, sediment and seawater is forced into the chamber
which eventually overflows, and the volcano erupts spewing lava into the sky.

This kind of eruption produces sticky, thick lava at temperatures from 800 to 1,000C.

The second type of eruption caused by tectonic plates is when the plates move away from each
other allowing magma to rise and fill the gap, which can cause a gentle explosion of thin lava of
temperatures between 800 to 1,200C.

Decreasing temperatures can cause old magma to crystallize and sink to the bottom of the chamber
and this movement can force fresh liquid magma up and out - similar to dropping a brick in a
bucket of water.

Finally a decrease in external pressure can trigger an eruption as it may minimize the volcano's
ability to hold back by increasing the pressures inside the magma chamber.

Geographic distribution of volcanoes

• Volcanoes often form along the boundaries of tectonic plates. These tectonic plates are
massive slabs of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle and fit together like the pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle. Tectonic plates do not stay in the same position, rather they are in constant
 movement, albeit at the slow pace of a few centimetres a year. Tectonic plates can
sometimes collide or move apart from each other.
• The distribution of volcanoes over our planet’s surface is not random. Most of the Earth’s
volcanoes are huddled on the edges of the continents, lining island chains, or forming long
mountain ranges underneath the ocean. When observed from space, the majority of our
planet’s volcanoes form linear or arcuate belts over the Earth’s surface. Scientists now
consider the theory of plate tectonics as a logical explanation for the location of most
volcanoes.

Mudflow
mudflow, flow of water that contains large amounts of suspended particles and silt. It has a higher
density and viscosity than a streamflow and can deposit only the coarsest part of its load; this
causes irreversible sediment entrainment. Its high viscosity will not allow it to flow as far as a
water flow.

Mudflows occur on steep slopes where vegetation is not sufficient to prevent rapid erosion but can
occur on gentle slopes if other conditions are met. Other factors are heavy precipitation in short
periods and an easily erodible source material. Mudflows can be generated in any climatic regime
but are most common in arid and semiarid areas. They may rush down a mountainside at speeds
as great as 100 km (60 miles) per hour and can cause great damage to life and property. Boulders
as large as houses have been moved by mudflows.
Mudflow deposits are poorly sorted mixtures of silt, boulders, organic materials, and other debris.
They have abrupt and well-defined edges, irregular surfaces, and a lobate appearance; they may
be 3 to 6 m (10 to 20 feet) high. Such deposits are extensive on alluvial fans and around the bases
of many volcanoes.

Cyclone

Cyclones can be the most intense storms on Earth. A cyclone is a system of winds rotating
counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere around a low pressure center. The swirling air rises
and cools, creating clouds and precipitation.

There are two types of cyclones: middle latitude (mid-latitude) cyclones and tropical cyclones.
Mid-latitude cyclones are the main cause of winter storms in the middle latitudes. Tropical
cyclones are also known as hurricanes.

An anticyclone is the opposite of a cyclone. An anticyclone’s winds rotate clockwise in the

Northern Hemisphere around a center of high pressure. Air comes in from above and sinks to the
ground. High pressure centers generally have fair weather.

Mid-Latitude Cyclones

Mid-latitude cyclones, sometimes called extratropical cyclones, form at the polar front when the
temperature difference between two air masses is large. These air masses blow past each other in
opposite directions. Coriolis Effect deflects winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, causing
the winds to strike the polar front at an angle. Warm and cold fronts form next to each other. Most
winter storms in the middle latitudes, including most of the United States and Europe, are caused
by mid-latitude cyclones.The warm air at the cold front rises and creates a low pressure cell. Winds
rush into the low pressure and create a rising column of air. The air twists, rotating
counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Since
the rising air is moist, rain or snow falls.

Mid-latitude cyclones form in winter in the mid-latitudes and move eastward with the westerly
winds. These two- to five-day storms can reach 1,000 to 2,500 km (625 to 1,600 miles) in diameter
and produce winds up to 125 km (75 miles) per hour. Like tropical cyclones, they can cause
extensive beach erosion and flooding.Mid-latitude cyclones are especially fierce in the mid-
Atlantic and New England states where they are called nor’easters, because they come from the
northeast. About 30 nor’easters strike the region each year.

Different terminology is used for this weather phenomenon depending on the location:

• In the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the North Atlantic Ocean and the eastern
and central North Pacific Ocean, it is called "hurricane"
• In the western North Pacific, it is called "typhoon"
 • In the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, it is called "cyclone"
• In western South Pacific and southeast Indian Ocean, it is called “severe tropical
cyclone”
• In the southwest Indian Ocean, it is called “tropical cyclone”

Classification of tropical cyclones

Depending on the maximum sustained wind speed, tropical cyclones will be designated as follows:

• Tropical depression is when the maximum sustained wind speed is less than 63 km/h.
• Tropical storm is when the maximum sustained wind speed is more than 63 km/h. It
is then also given a name.
• Hurricane, typhoon, tropical cyclone, very severe cyclonic storm - depending on the
basin - when the maximum sustained wind speed exceeds 116 km/h or 63 knots.

Hurricanes

Tropical cyclones have many names. They are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and eastern
Pacific oceans, typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean, tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean, and
willi-willi’s in the waters near Australia. By any name, they are the most damaging storms on
Earth. Hurricanes arise in the tropical latitudes (between 10 degrees and 25 degrees N) in summer
and autumn when sea surface temperature are 28 degrees C (82 degrees F) or higher. The warm
seas create a large humid air mass. The warm air rises and forms a low pressure cell, known as a
tropical depression. Thunderstorms materialize around the tropical depression.If the temperature
reaches or exceeds 28 degrees C (82 degrees F) the air begins to rotate around the low pressure
(counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere).

As the air rises, water vapor condenses, releasing energy from latent heat. If wind shear is low, the
storm builds into a hurricane within two to three days. Hurricanes are huge with high winds. The
exception is the relatively calm eye of the storm where air is rising upward. Rainfall can be as high
as 2.5 cm (1″) per hour, resulting in about 20 billion metric tons of water released daily in a
hurricane. The release of latent heat generates enormous amounts of energy, nearly the total annual
electrical power consumption of the United States from one storm. Hurricanes can also generate
tornadoes.

Hurricanes are assigned to categories based on their wind speed. The categories are listed on
the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
Tropical cyclones and their related hazards
Tropical cyclones are associated with a variety of hazards. Damaging or destructive winds may
reach speeds in excess of 300 km/h in the most intense systems. The combination of wind-driven
waves and the low-pressure of a tropical cyclone can produce a coastal storm surge – a huge
volume of water driven ashore at high speed and with immense force that can wash away structures
in its path and cause significant damage to the coastal environment. Torrential rainfall
results in flash-flooding, flooding, and potential landslides, and mudslides.
Their potential for wreaking havoc caused by those associated hazards is exacerbated by the length
and width of the areas they affect, their intensity, frequency of occurrence and the vulnerability of
the impacted areas.

Storm Surge
A storm surge is a rise in sea level that occurs during tropical cyclones, intense storms also known
as typhoons or hurricanes. The storms produce strong winds that push the water into shore, which
can lead to flooding. This makes storm surges very dangerous for coastal regions.

Tropical cyclones are circular storms characterized by high winds and heavy rainfall. They form
over warm, tropical oceans. The center of a cyclone is called the eye. The eye is surrounded by a
ring of clouds called the eye wall, where the winds are strongest. Surrounding the eye wall are
clouds that spiral outward, called spiraling rain bands.
A storm surge is primarily caused by the relationship between the winds and the ocean’s surface.
The water level rises where the winds are strongest. In addition, water is pushed in the direction
the winds are blowing. The rotation of the Earth causes winds to move toward the right in
the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere—a phenomenon known
as the Coriolis effect. If a cyclone develops in the Northern Hemisphere, the surge will be largest
in the right-forward part of the storm. In the Southern Hemisphere, the surge will be largest in the
left-forward part of the cyclone.
Another factor contributing to storm surge is atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure is the
force exerted by the weight of air in the Earth’s atmosphere. The pressure is higher at the edges of
a cyclone than it is at the center. This pushes down the water in the outer parts of the storm, causing
the water to bulge at the eye and eye wall—where the winds have helped add to the rise in sea
level. More factors contribute to the strength of a storm surge as the dome of water comes ashore.
The water level can reach as high as 10 meters (33 feet) if the storm surge happens at the same
time as high tide. The slope of the land just off the coast also plays a part: Water will more
easily flood a shallow coast than a steep one.
Flooding caused by the storm surge is responsible for most of the deaths associated with tropical
cyclone landfalls. Extreme examples of storm surge fatalities include 6,000 deaths
in Galveston, Texas, in 1900 and the loss of more than 300,000 lives in East Pakistan
(now Bangladesh) in 1970 from a storm surge that was estimated to be 9 metres (30 feet) high.
Improvements in forecasting the expected height of storm surges and the issuing of warnings are
necessary as the population of coastal areas continues to increase.

Climate change

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be
natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been
the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the
Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and
methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example.
Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of
methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main
emitters.

Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven
cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago
marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these
climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of
solar energy our planet receives. The current warming trend is of particular significance because
it is unequivocally the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and proceeding at a rate
that is unprecedented over millennia. It is undeniable that human activities have warmed the
atmosphere, ocean, and land and that widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean,
cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.

Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances have enabled scientists to see the big
picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global
scale. This body of data, collected over many years, reveals the signals of a changing climate.

The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th
century. Their ability to affect the transfer of infrared energy through the atmosphere is the
scientific basis of many instruments flown by NASA. There is no question that increased levels of
greenhouse gases must cause Earth to warm in response.

Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers show that Earth’s
climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can also be found in tree
rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks. This ancient, or paleoclimate,
evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly ten times faster than the average rate
of ice-age-recovery warming. Carbon dioxide from human activity is increasing more than 250
times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age.
Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years

And emissions continue to rise. As a result, the Earth is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late
1800s. The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record.

Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the
beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one
area can influence changes in all others.

The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity,
severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways

Climate change can affect our health, ability to grow food, housing, safety and work. Some of us are
already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other
developing countries. Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point
where whole communities have had to relocate, and protracted droughts are putting people at risk of
famine. In the future, the number of “climate refugees” is expected to rise.

Every increase in global warming matters

In a 2018 UN report, thousands of scientists and government reviewers agreed that limiting global
temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C would help us avoid the worst climate impacts and maintain a
livable climate. Yet based on current national climate plans, global warming is projected to reach 2.7°C
by the end of the century.

The emissions that cause climate change come from every part of the world and affect everyone, but
some countries produce much more than others. The 100 least-emitting countries generate 3 per cent of
total emissions. The 10 countries with the largest emissions contribute 68 per cent. Everyone must take
climate action, but people and countries creating more of the problem have a greater responsibility to
act first.

Sea Level Will Rise 1-8 feet by 2100

Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since reliable record keeping began in 1880. It is
projected to rise another 1 to 8 feet by 2100. This is the result of added water from melting land
ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms.

In the next several decades, storm surges and high tides could combine with sea level rise and land
subsidence to further increase flooding in many regions. Sea level rise will continue past 2100
because the oceans take a very long time to respond to warmer conditions at the Earth’s surface.
Ocean waters will therefore continue to warm and sea level will continue to rise for many centuries
at rates equal to or higher than those of the current century.

We face a huge challenge but already know many solutions

Many climate change solutions can deliver economic benefits while improving our lives and protecting
the environment. We also have global frameworks and agreements to guide progress, such
as the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and
the Paris Agreement. Three broad categories of action are: cutting emissions, adapting to climate
impacts and financing required adjustments.

Switching energy systems from fossil fuels to renewables like solar or wind will reduce the emissions
driving climate change. But we have to start right now. While a growing coalition of countries is
committing to net zero emissions by 2050, about half of emissions cuts must be in place by 2030 to
keep warming below 1.5°C. Fossil fuel production must decline by roughly 6 per cent per year between
2020 and 2030.

What is global warming?

Global warming is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a general increase in average
temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time. It
is directly linked to the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, worsening the greenhouse
effect. In fact, the average temperature of the planet has increased by 0.8º Celsius (33.4°
Fahrenheit) compared to the end of the 19th century. Each of the last three decades has been
warmer than all previous decades since the beginning of the statistical surveys in 1850.

At the pace of current CO2 emissions, scientists expect an increase of between 1.5° and 5.3°C
(34.7° to 41.5°F) in average temperature by 2100. If no action is taken, it would have harmful
consequences to humanity and the biosphere.

Causes
Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the
atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface.
Normally this radiation would escape into space, but these pollutants, which can last for years to
centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. These heat-trapping
pollutants—specifically carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and synthetic
fluorinated gases—are known as greenhouse gases, and their impact is called the greenhouse
effect. Though natural cycles and fluctuations have caused the earth’s climate to change several
times over the last 800,000 years, our current era of global warming is directly attributable to
human activity—specifically to our burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gasoline, and natural
gas, which results in the greenhouse effect. Other reasons for global warming can be:
Fossil fuels
Deforestation
Intensive farming
Waste disposal
Mining
Overconsumption

Curbing dangerous climate change requires very deep cuts in emissions, as well as the use
of alternatives to fossil fuels worldwide. The good news is that countries around the globe have
formally committed—as part of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement—to lower their emissions by
setting new standards and crafting new policies to meet or even exceed those standards. The not-
so-good news is that we’re not working fast enough. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change,
scientists tell us that we need to reduce global carbon emissions by as much as 40 percent by 2030.
For that to happen, the global community must take immediate, concrete steps: to decarbonize
electricity generation by equitably transitioning from fossil fuel–based production to renewable
energy sources like wind and solar; to electrify our cars and trucks; and to maximize energy
efficiency in our buildings, appliances, and industries.

Effects of global warming

Each year scientists learn more about the consequences of global warming, and each year we also
gain new evidence of its devastating impact on people and the planet. As the heat waves, droughts,
and floods associated with climate change become more frequent and more intense, communities
suffer and death tolls rise. If we’re unable to reduce our emissions, scientists believe that climate
change could lead to the deaths of more than 250,000 people around the globe every year and force
100 million people into poverty by 2030.
Global warming is already taking a toll on the United States. And if we aren’t able to get a handle
on our emissions, here’s just a smattering of what we can look forward to:
• Disappearing glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic
water shortages and continue to increase the risk of wildfires in the American West.
• Rising sea levels will lead to even more coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard,
especially in Florida, and in other areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.
• Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests, heat waves, heavy
downpours, and increased flooding. All of these can damage or destroy agriculture
and fisheries.
• Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and alpine meadows could drive many plant
and animal species to extinction.
• Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due
to increased growth of pollen-producing ragweed, higher levels of air pollution, and
the spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes.
Though everyone is affected by climate change, not everyone is affected equally. Indigenous
people, people of color, and the economically marginalized are typically hit the hardest. Inequities
built into our housing, health care, and labor systems make these communities more vulnerable to
the worst impacts of climate change—even though these same communities have done the least to
contribute to it.
Sea level rise
Global sea level has been rising over the past century, and the rate has increased in recent decades.

In 2014, global sea level was 2.6 inches above the 1993 average—the highest annual average in
the satellite record (1993-present). Sea level continues to rise at a rate of about one-eighth of an
inch per year.

Higher sea levels mean that deadly and destructive storm surges push farther inland than they once
did, which also means more frequent nuisance flooding. Disruptive and expensive, nuisance
flooding is estimated to be from 300 percent to 900 percent more frequent within U.S. coastal
communities than it was just 50 years ago.

The two major causes of global sea level rise are thermal expansion caused by warming of the
ocean (since water expands as it warms) and increased melting of land-based ice, such as glaciers
and ice sheets. The ocean is absorbing more than 90 percent of the increased atmospheric heat
associated with emissions from human activity.

With continued ocean and atmospheric warming, sea levels will likely rise for many centuries at
rates higher than that of the current century. In the United States, almost 40 percent of the
population lives in relatively high-population-density coastal areas, where sea level plays a role in
flooding, shoreline erosion, and hazards from storms. Globally, eight of the world's 10 largest
cities are near a coast, according to the U.N. Atlas of the Oceans.

Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average due to local factors
such as land subsidence from natural processes and withdrawal of groundwater and fossil fuels,
changes in regional ocean currents, and whether the land is still rebounding from the compressive
weight of Ice Age glaciers. In urban settings, rising seas threaten infrastructure necessary for local
jobs and regional industries. Roads, bridges, subways, water supplies, oil and gas wells, power
plants, sewage treatment plants, landfills—virtually all human infrastructure—is at risk from sea
level rise.

Changing sea levels can affect human activities in coastal areas. Rising sea level inundates low-
lying wetlands and dry land, erodes shorelines, contributes to coastal flooding, and increases the
flow of salt water into estuaries and nearby groundwater aquifers. Higher sea level also makes
coastal infrastructure more vulnerable to damage from storms.

The sea level changes that affect coastal systems involve more than just expanding oceans,
however, because the Earth’s continents can also rise and fall relative to the oceans. Land can rise
through processes such as sediment accumulation (the process that built the Mississippi River
delta) and geological uplift (for example, as glaciers melt and the land below is no longer weighed
down by heavy ice). In other areas, land can sink because of erosion, sediment compaction, natural
subsidence (sinking due to geologic changes), groundwater withdrawal, or engineering projects
that prevent rivers from naturally depositing sediments along their banks. Changes in ocean
currents such as the Gulf Stream can also affect sea levels by pushing more water against some
coastlines and pulling it away from others, raising or lowering sea levels accordingly.

Scientists account for these types of changes by measuring sea level change in two different
ways. Relative sea level change refers to how the height of the ocean rises or falls relative to the
land at a particular location. In contrast, absolute sea level change refers to the height of the ocean
surface above the center of the earth, without regard to whether nearby land is rising or falling.

Ozone layer depletion

Ozone
The Earth's ozone layer protects all life from the sun's harmful radiation, but human activities have
damaged this shield. Less ozone-layer protection from ultraviolet (UV) light will, over time,
damage crops and lead to higher skin cancer and cataract rates.
The Earth's atmosphere is composed of several layers. The lowest layer, the troposphere, extends
from the Earth's surface up to about 6 miles or 10 kilometers (km) in altitude. Virtually all human
activities occur in the troposphere. Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on the planet, is only about
5.6 miles (9 km) high. The next layer, the stratosphere, continues from 6 miles (10 km) to about
31 miles (50 km). Most commercial airplanes fly in the lower part of the stratosphere.

Most atmospheric ozone is concentrated in a layer in the stratosphere, about 9 to 18 miles (15 to
30 km) above the Earth's surface (see the figure below). Ozone is a molecule that contains three
oxygen atoms. At any given time, ozone molecules are constantly formed and destroyed in the
stratosphere. The total amount has remained relatively stable during the decades that it has been
measured.

The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs a portion of the radiation from the sun, preventing it
from reaching the planet's surface. Most importantly, it absorbs the portion of UV light
called UVB. UVB has been linked to many harmful effects, including skin cancers, cataracts, and
harm to some crops and marine life.

Scientists have established records spanning several decades that detail normal ozone levels during
natural cycles. Ozone concentrations in the atmosphere vary naturally with sunspots, seasons, and
latitude. These processes are well understood and predictable. Each natural reduction in ozone
levels has been followed by a recovery. Beginning in the 1970s, however, scientific evidence
showed that the ozone shield was being depleted well beyond natural processes.

Ozone Depletion

When chlorine and bromine atoms come into contact with ozone in the stratosphere, they destroy
ozone molecules. One chlorine atom can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules before it is
removed from the stratosphere. Ozone can be destroyed more quickly than it is naturally created.
Some compounds release chlorine or bromine when they are exposed to intense UV light in the
stratosphere. These compounds contribute to ozone depletion and are called ozone-depleting
substances (ODS). ODS that release chlorine
include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), carbon tetrachloride,
and methyl chloroform. ODS that release bromine include halons and methyl bromide. Although
ODS are emitted at the Earth’s surface, they are eventually carried into the stratosphere in a process
that can take as long as two to five years.

In the 1970s, concerns about the effects of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) on the
stratospheric ozone layer prompted several countries, including the United States, to ban the use
of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as aerosol propellants. However, global production of CFCs and
other ODS continued to grow rapidly as new uses were found for these chemicals in refrigeration,
fire suppression, foam insulation, and other applications.

Some natural processes, such as large volcanic eruptions, can have an indirect effect on ozone
levels. For example, Mt. Pinatubo's 1991 eruption did not increase stratospheric chlorine
concentrations, but it did produce large amounts of tiny particles called aerosols (different from
consumer products also known as aerosols). These aerosols increase chlorine's effectiveness at
destroying ozone. The aerosols in the stratosphere create a surface on which CFC-based chlorine
can destroy ozone. However, the effect from volcanoes is short-lived.

Not all chlorine and bromine sources contribute to ozone layer depletion. For example, researchers
have found that chlorine from swimming pools, industrial plants, sea salt, and volcanoes does not
reach the stratosphere. In contrast, ODS are very stable and do not dissolve in rain. Thus, there are
no natural processes that remove the ODS from the lower atmosphere.

One example of ozone depletion is the annual ozone "hole" over Antarctica that has occurred
during the Antarctic spring since the early 1980s. This is not really a hole through the ozone layer,
but rather a large area of the stratosphere with extremely low amounts of ozone.

Ozone depletion is not limited to the area over the South Pole. Research has shown that ozone
depletion occurs over the latitudes that include North America, Europe, Asia, and much of Africa,
Australia, and South America.

Chemical hazards
Chemicals can be broken down into hazard classes and exhibit both physical and health hazards.
It is important to keep in mind, that chemicals can exhibit more than one hazard or combinations
of several hazards. Several factors can influence how a chemical will behave and the hazards the
chemical presents, including the severity of the response:

• Concentration of the chemical.

• Physical state of the chemical (solid, liquid, gas).
• Physical processes involved in using the chemical (cutting, grinding, heating, cooling,
etc.).
 • Chemical processes involved in using the chemical (mixing with other chemicals,
purification, distillation, etc.).
• Other processes (improper storage, addition of moisture, storage in sunlight, refrigeration,
etc.).

Industrial development and increasing demand for diverse goods and services to cater to the
increasing whims and needs of humanity have resulted in chemicals being utilized in many
products and processes. This has increased the chemical exposure of people, both at home and in
the workplace. Therefore, exposure to chemicals and their harmful effects has spread across the
globe at alarming rates causing a rise in health problems and negatively affecting worker safety.

Chemical hazards are mainly caused by the characteristics of chemical substances that may cause
explosions, fires, or corrosions; or emit poisonous gases or mini particles. Often, chemical
substances react negatively when exposed to, or mixed with, other materials or chemical
substances. For instance, asbestos particles are usually dispersed in the atmosphere when moved.

Routes of Chemical Exposure

While the use of chemicals in processes, production, and goods have benefited people in many
ways, these chemical substances are also the cause of chemical hazards. There are several routes
of chemical exposure as described below.

• Inhalation – that is breathing in toxic vapors or small chemical particles

• Absorption – such as direct exposure to the skin by touching a chemical substance without any
protection such as wearing gloves.
• Injection – that is when a sharp contaminated object or needle accidentally penetrates a worker’s
body (such as hand or foot)
• Ingestion – that is when toxins are accidentally swallowed
Human biology allows chemicals and other toxic substances to enter the body in different ways.
The most common is inhalation when harmful gases are present in the atmosphere. Another is
through direct contact of the skin with the hazardous substance. Injection of a hazardous chemical
or contaminated substance is possible is if employees are working in laboratories or medical
facilities dealing with contaminated needles and other infectious materials. Ingestion is the fourth
method, but it is a less common form of exposure in the workplace.

Types of Chemical Hazards in the Workplace

There are several types of chemical hazards in the workplace. While there are several
classifications for these chemical hazards, many of these hazardous chemical substances fall within
several of these classifications.
Asphyxiants
Chemical asphyxiants deprive the body of oxygen; interrupting the transfer and use of oxygen by
the bloodstream.
Asphyxiant Chemical Examples: Carbon monoxide and cyanide.

Corrosives
Chemical corrosives cause visible and/or irreversible changes to the composition of a material due
to direct contact. Similarly, these can also cause a localized reaction in the human body at the point
of contact. However, corrosive chemicals also have the potential to produce systemic chemical
exposure away from the point of contact when mixed with other substances.
Corrosive Chemical Examples: Sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide.

Irritants
Chemical hazards that are classified as irritants cause harm to the eyes, skin, or respiratory tract of
a person. Irritants are either highly, moderately, or slightly water-soluble. The hazards can manifest
as redness, rashes, inflammation, coughing, or hemorrhaging. Irritants are mostly short-term
severe illnesses but can also have long-lasting side effects in some people. People can also have
an allergic reaction to some of these chemical materials with long-lasting health impacts or even
be fatal.
Irritant Causing Chemical Examples: nickel chloride and chromic acid.

Sensitizers
Sensitizers are also known as allergens meaning they cause an allergic reaction in people who face
repeated exposure over time to certain chemicals. Reactions to chemicals deemed as sensitizers
vary from person to person and can be either acute or chronic. Chemical exposure can manifest as
swelling of the airway or develop into dangerous illnesses such as lung disease. Some diseases
such as asthma and contact dermatitis become common among people due to over-exposure to
chemicals.
Allergen Causing Chemical Examples: Chlorine and alkalis.

Carcinogens
Carcinogens are cancer-causing chemical substances, and a small amount of such a chemical is
enough to severely harm human health. The hazards of such chemical substances will only appear
many years after the exposure. There are over 200 known human carcinogens.
Chemical Carcinogen Examples: Benzene, cadmium, formaldehyde, and vinyl chloride.

Mutagens
Chemicals classified as mutagens cause genetic changes to a cell’s DNA and RNA. Genetic
changes can cause cancer, prevent normal biological functions, or may result in the malfunction
of a particular organ. Examples: Benzene, ionizing radiation, and hydrogen peroxide.

Teratogens
Chemical teratogens can disrupt the normal development of a fetus causing birth defects and even
the healthy advancement of pregnancy.
Chemical Teratogen Examples: Thalidomide, ionizing radiation, and organic mercury compounds.
Reactive
Chemical substances that cause a chemical hazard such as an explosion when mixed or combined
with other chemical or non-chemical substances such as water or air.
Reactive Chemical Examples: Nitric acid, benzoyl peroxide, and silane.

Flammable
Many chemicals are characterized as flammable as they can easily burn or ignite when exposed to
oxygen.
Flammable Chemical Examples: Methanol, acetone, propane, and butane.

Managing Workplace Chemical Hazards

The recommendations from the most effective to the least effective ways to control chemical
hazards are as follows:
• Elimination/Substitution – where the need for hazardous chemical usage is completely removed
or an alternate less or non-hazardous chemical is used.
• Engineering Controls – where employers must implement changes that are physical to the
workplace that helps to reduce exposure to the chemical hazard on the workers using or handling
hazardous chemical substances.
• Administrative and Work Practice Controls – changing how a work task is performed or
establishing efficient workplace policies, protocols, processes, and control and monitoring
mechanisms.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – using PPE such as respirators, gloves, protective full-
body suits, etc., can help in reducing the workers’ direct contact with the hazardous chemical.

Industrial Hazard
Industrial hazards consist of four principle hazards. This is because industries employ many
different processes involving a wide range of different raw materials, intermediates, waste
products and final products. The hazards encountered are fire, explosion, toxic release and
environmental damage.
Fire: This is the most frequent of the hazards however the consequences are generally less. The
effect of fire on people usually takes the form of skin burns and is usually dependant on the
exposure time and the intensity of the heat. Fire can also produce toxic fumes like Acrolein, Carbon
monoxide and Cyanides. Physical structures can be damaged either by the intensity of the heat or
combustion. It may also have an effect on essential services like power and instrumentation which
can cause an escalation of the incident
Explosion: Explosions are usually heard from far away as a ‘bang’. This is the result of a shock
wave. This overpressure can kill people but usually the indirect effects of collapsing buildings,
flying glass and debris causes far more loss of life and severe injuries. There are different types of
explosions which include gas explosions and dust explosions. Gas explosions occur when a
flammable gas mixes with air and is exposed to an ignition source. Dust explosions occur when
flammable solids, especially metals, in the form of fine powders are intensively mixed with air and
ignited.
Toxic/Chemical release: Sudden releases of toxic vapours have the potential to cause death and
severe injuries several miles from the release point. They are carried by water and air. Their release
into public sewage systems, rivers, canals and other water courses, either directly or through
contaminated water used in fire fighting can result in serious threat to public. The number of
casualties depends on the weather conditions, population density in the path of the cloud and the
effectiveness of the emergency arrangements.
Environmental Damage: As well as having the potential for causing injury, loss of life and
damage to property, the hazards of fire, explosion and toxic releases may pose a severe threat to
the environment. Release of other substances, not directly toxic to humans can cause major
pollution problems. It is becoming increasingly recognized that damage to natural resources such
as plant and animal life can have serious long term consequences. E.g. destruction of trees is
increasing the effect of global warming and extinction of animals are severely disrupting food
webs and causing an increase in pests.
Vulnerabilities
Improper location of Communities
Communities like California and Couva are located too close to the Point Lisas industrial estate.
If there is an explosion or chemical release, there communities will be severely affected potentially
with many deaths and structural damage
Poor developmental planning in Point Lisa Industries in Point Lisas Industrial estate are located
in such a way that it is easy for one failure to cause a domino effect e.g. there is a methanol plant
situated approximately 150m for a power generation plant. This power plant can produce a very
easy source of ignition for any possible leak that may occur from the methanol plant.
Lack of knowledge
Many persons in the country and primarily persons close to the industrial estate are unaware of the
actual dangers they face on a daily basis. Although it has been said may times, persons continue
to ignore this because a disaster of catastrophic scale has not occurred before at the estate and
companies boast of the low probability of such an incident. From a domestic point of view, person
using everyday product like degreasers, disinfectants, bleach, lubricants, paints, thinners, acids
(concrete cleaner) must be careful as most of these products affect the skin
Lack of mitigation measures
From findings it has been proven that the mitigation measures put in place on the estate with
respect to the ammonia plants are insufficient. There exists no specialized medical facility to deal
with industrial cases. Even though there is the Couva Medical facility nearby, this is occupied by
persons from that area. Fishing villages
Lack of evacuation expertise
It was found that the emergency response system at Point Lisas was inadequate to handle industrial
emergencies as there were a lack of specialized medical personnel as well as triage equipment and
facilities.
Transportation risks
Many chemicals, including flammable hydrocarbons are transported on the roadway alongside
other vehicles and pedestrians. This poses a risk of explosion, fire, blast fragments and other
harmful injury to bystanders, if an incident was to happen.

How to reduce risks

• Design and Pre-modification review: this involves proper layout, facilities and
material selection. Research should be done try to substitute extremely toxic
chemicals with safer ones. Less chemicals should be stored; a reduction in inventory
will automatically mean less damage if an accident is to occur.
• Chemical Risk Assessment: Chemicals are assessed based on compatibility,
flammability, toxicity, explosion hazards and storage.
• Process Safety Management: HAZOP studies, reliability assessment of process
equipment, incorporating safety trips and interlocks, scrubbing system, etc. should be
done before effecting major process changes. Management should try to develop a
culture of safety in industrial organizations
• Safety Audits: Periodical assessment of safety procedures and practices, performance
of safety systems and gadgets along with follow up measures should be carried out.
• Emergency Planning: A comprehensive risk analysis indicating the impact of
consequences and specific written down and practiced emergency procedures along
with suitable facilities should be done. This can be done by communities as well as
national or regional corporation authorities
• Training: Proper training of employees and protective services should be done.
• Special times and escorts for dangerous vehicles
• Public Cooperation on the road: the public should cooperate with the police and any
tankers and heavy duty vehicles to avoid accidents and allow for the shortest possible
on road time for dangerous vehicles.
• Public awareness: Everyone should be aware of potential disasters and informed of
protective and safety measures. MSDS sheets should be readily available to the public.
Cautions must be placed to standout on dangerous household and car care products.
• Proper storage of hazardous Materials: All chemicals and hazardous materials
should be kept at proper storage temperature and in locked cupboards away from
children and animals. Also, if reactive substances are stored, it should be stored is a
watertight container.

Nuclear Hazard

Nuclear hazards refer to the incidents involving the release of significant levels of radioactive
materials and exposure of general public or the natural environment to nuclear radiation. The
nuclear hazards primarily affect public health due to direct exposure to radioactive materials,
inhalation of radioactive waste, ingestion of contaminated food, water etc. and long term exposure
to radioactive materials in the environment that leads to acute or chronic health and environmental
damage.
Due to radioactivity, even a small amount of radiation exposure can have serious biological
consequences due to nuclear hazards. The radioactive elements emit high energy particles that
cause damage to environmental resources. Radiations emitted due to hazards in nuclear facilities
can result in mutations in DNA, burns and radiation sickness, weakness, nausea, hair loss etc.
Contamination of natural resources further aggravates the potential of nuclear hazards. Nuclear
hazards can be created by man through the mining of radioactive materials, careless handling and
processing of nuclear fuels, storage of radioactive wastes, carelessness in safety protocols while
operating reactors, as well as improper use of devices that are used to give radiation therapies in
hospitals, clinics etc.

Causes of Nuclear Hazards

Nuclear hazards occur due to the following reasons

• Nuclear Accidents
Nuclear energy has been considered as environmentally safe and potential source of energy. If
nuclear facilities producing nuclear energy are not put under strict safety measures, there are
chances that nuclear accidents may occur. Nuclear plants have huge amount of radioactive material
for generation of nuclear energy. The radioactive elements if escape into the environment, proves
most harmful for the immediate land, air and water resources as well as human health. If nuclear
power plants are operated with flawed design, then too, nuclear power plant accidents occur. For
eg Chernobyl Nuclear accident, 1986, Ukraine.

• Nuclear Waste Handling

Radioactive nuclear wastes are categorised as low level and high level wastes. The handling and
disposal of these wastes if not performed according to standards prescribed for handling wastes,
then nuclear hazards can take place because of leakage of this radioactive material. Radiation waste
can not be degraded or treated biologically or chemically. The only options are either to contain
the waste by storing them in closed containers, having radioactive protection or disposing them at
remote locations.

• Mining of Nuclear Fuels

Mining and extracting nuclear fuels such as thorium, uranium can turn into a nuclear hazard if
safety precautions are not taken. Mining increases exposure to humans by moving radio materials
from below the Earth’s surface to the top. These substances are usually mined with safety gears
and protective equipments. Exposing the natural environment such as trees, plants, water, animals
to radioactive elements during mining also increases hazard risks.
Spilling of Radioactive Elements Spilling occurs due to marine accidents which are due to
accidents of ships carrying nuclear materials and radioactive elements. Spilling in water bodies
causes harmful effects on marine life, contaminate water resources and ends up killing thousands
of marine floral as well as faunal species. Contaminated water supply in households can have
drastic effects on human health.
• Radiation Based Tests
Radiation has been used in several medical therapies such as Chemotherapies for cancers.
Exposure to medical based radiotherapies leads to deaths and other complications. Radioactive
elements leaking out of medical facilities can cause fatal nuclear hazards.

Human and Ecological Effects of Nuclear Hazards

Nuclear hazards cause large amounts of nuclear wastes to be released in the environment thus
contaminating air, water and land resources. It is essential to contain nuclear material and facilities
having nuclear materials safely. The harmful effects of nuclear hazards include

• Radioactive materials released from nuclear hazards cause mutations in the DNA, thereby
affecting genes and chromosomes. The genetic makeup of future generations is affected due to
these mutations. It leads to several incurable birth defects.

Radiations can kill essential flora and fauna, important environmental species and can make land
soil, plants etc. toxic and critical species are also affected. It results in huge damage to biodiversity.

• Damages caused by different kinds of radiations also include direct physical harms such as burns,
miscarriages, cancer, bone defects, eye diseases etc. Even a small exposure to radiation can cause
adverse effects. Damages that occur over longer periods are spread over for generations.
•Natural resources such as land, soil, forests, water bodies like rivers, ponds, oceans get affected
by nuclear wastes and nuclear elements. Contamination of natural resources affects large number
of people living in urban as well as rural areas.

• If nuclear accident sites are not treated and managed properly, it could results in human infectious
diseases due to contaminated water and soil in a region.

Nuclear hazards increases the pressure on land as soil and water resources are contaminated and
therefore lesser land is available for agricultural purposes. The microorganisms present in land and
soil also get killed due to insufficient oxygen which reduces soil fertility.

• Nuclear hazards also reduces human immunity to fight against diseases and infections. This
makes people vulnerable to infections. It further increases the chances of disease risk in the
population.

Ways to Mitigate Harmful Effects of Nuclear Hazards

Nuclear hazards can pose serious risks to environment, humans and animal and plant life. Nuclear
hazards can be mitigated by taking following measures • There must be robust design and
construction of nuclear reactors so that any fault does not occur during operation of the reactor.

• Medical devices involving nuclear fuel and its use should be used with caution to prevent any
undesirable exposure to nuclear material.
• Leakage of nuclear materials, radioactive elements, careless handling of radioactive elements
must be fully ensured before carrying out any operations in nuclear facilities.

There should be regular monitoring of areas that are prone to nuclear hazards.

Nuclear wastes should be disposed properly as to prevent any long term presence of radioactive
material. Long term presence of radioactivity results in hidden and unwanted effects on hunian
lives for longer periods of time.

• If there are any possibilities of release of radioactive materials, it must be ensured that adequate
safety measures are in place to limit the spread of radioactive waste materials and their harmful
effects on human lives.