7/29/2019 Geography Summary

1/2

Surname 1

Student's Name

Instructor's Name

Course

Date

Global warming is leading to a wide variety of extreme climatic events around the world,

while at the same time opening up new (and sometimes unexpected) opportunities for

economic development. A south-western monsoon caused heavy rainfall in Manila and

severe flooding in Manila and nearby provinces in early August. Also in the month of

August, raging wildfires in California destroyed homes and forced thousands to be evacuated.

The fire was started by a lightning, and its severity forced the Governor of California to

declare a state of emergency in Northern California. In fact a report published in September

stated that the high population density Los Angeles County was at highest risk, within

California, from wildfires. The author of the report, Insurance Information Network of

California, claimed that wildfires have caused more commercial losses for California than

any other disaster since the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Meanwhile in Ecuador, an eruption

from the Tungurahua volcano led to the evacuation of 110 families in August. The eruption

was classified as a moderate-to-strong event, and it spewed a column of vapor and ash up to

2.5 miles high. Also in August, a proposal was made for recognition of a new cloud variety

that has been observed as an undulating blanket formation covering part or all of the sky.

The ice cover in Greenland is melting fast, severely affecting the livelihoods of its

inhabitants. Shrimps are migrating from their traditional habitat to cooler waters, thus

displacing many shrimp farmers and fishermen. Conversely, the receding glaciers are

exposing vast deposits of minerals and gems, thus opening up possibilities of a mining

7/29/2019 Geography Summary

2/2

Surname 2

industry in Greenland. It is even being speculated that profits from mining might even

eventually help Greenland acquire sovereignty! But there is an active debate as to whether

large scale mining should be allowed or not, the reason being its damaging effects on the

environment.

In September, 9 climbers in Nepal were killed by an avalanche in deteriorating

weather conditions. Another report in October stated that a spate of flooding has occurred in

Niger, leading to the loss of 91 lives and damage to properties. In October, appearance of a

funnel cloud and stormy sky was reported in Long Beach, while at the same time Hermosa

Beach nearby experienced a bright sunny sky. It was also reported that the Obama

administration has adopted a policy to encourage development of large-scale solar plants in

the western U.S. and in the Mojave Desert.

In November, a program on NOVA spoke about hurricane Sandy and whether major

storms like it would become the norm, rather than the exception, because of global warming.

Weather scientists seem to agree that as oceans become warmer, storms become bigger, more

intense and slower moving, thus rendering much more damage to inhabited areas than before.

Another program looked at the landing of the NASA rover Curiosity on the surface of Mars.

NASA scientists involved in the rover program talked about the difficulties of the mission,

weather conditions on Mars and the potential benefits the mission might bring to humanity.