No.160 / Oct 17, 2022
Recently, there has been a lot of damage in Korea due to rain and wind. In early August, record-breaking heavy rains flooded the underground, killing people, and even before the damage was addressed, the enormous typhoon Hinamnor hit the south of Korea again, causing about 1.7 trillion won in property damage. Climate disasters are occurring not only in Korea but also around the world, and countless people are suffering as a result. Why did Hinamnor hit Korea?
Hinamnor occurred at a relatively higher latitude than the last typhoon. Usually, typhoons that affect Korea are in the range of 5 to 20°N degrees, and especially powerful typhoons often occur in warm waters in the low °N of the northwest Pacific Ocean, above 5°N degrees. However, Hinamnor first occurred above 25°N degrees. Generally, strong typhoons do not occur above 25°N degrees because of the low sea temperature. Although, the sea temperature has risen overall, creating the conditions that resulted in Hinamnor, the typhoon’s intensity should be weakened as it rises, but it passed through Korea with strong conditions as climate change raised the temperature of the sea in the north. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that the sea surface temperature around Korea would rise by about 1 to 1.2°C in the near future. This means that in the future, a typhoon that is several times stronger and larger than Hinamnor can hit Korea at any time.
The climate crisis has long been steadily presented as a risk factor. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s 2021 Global Climate Status Report, the temperature rose to 54.4°C in Death Valley, California, and 100 to 150mm of heavy rain fell on western Germany and eastern Belgium for two days, causing flooding and landslides and resulting in over 200 deaths. Indeed, the magnitude of climate change-related damage is increasing rapidly in many parts of the world, including Africa, China, and Greenland. United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “It is a grim reality that mankind has failed to cope with climate change.” and advised that “We need to take urgent steps to catch the low-hanging fruit of converting energy systems from the dead end of fossil fuels to renewable energy.” How can we help prevent the climate crisis? The priority is reducing energy consumption by unplugging unused devices from outlets. Additionally, people should use public transportation and inform the people around them of the seriousness of the climate crisis and urge action. The climate crisis is getting worse. It is time to realize and act on its seriousness so that humans can coexist with nature.
By Kim Jae-hyun, AG Reporter
zxc2337@ajou.ac.kr