Photograph taken as flood levels were rising in Brisbane, March 2022 (Photo: Jaana Dielenberg
via Twitter @Jaana_Dielen).
Seventeen people dead. Houses, buildings, schools, and parks have been indiscriminately destroyed by terrible floods in eastern Australia. As an Australian, I am pained knowing my country is suffering due to the terrible floods.
Recently in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, there have been vigorous floods that are supposed to occur “once in 100 years.” Houses, buildings, schools, and parks have been destroyed by these terrible floods. These are the second “100-year floods” in the past 5 years.
Residents of flood-prone regions in Australia are asking, “Is this the new normal?” I think it will become the “new normal”. Climate change is getting worse and worse every day, and we aren’t doing enough about it. Statistics prove these extreme weather events have been happening more frequently in recent decades. If it gets worse, it will become the new normal.
Is climate change the issue? I feel as if it is. The Brisbane flooding is one of many natural disasters that have occurred recently. I spoke to Northwood’s Environmental Science teacher, Ms. Kelly Carter to ask if she thinks this will be the new normal and if this is a climate change-related disaster.
“Yes, in ways this is the new normal, although what Australia is experiencing regarding extreme rainfall is due to a natural, cyclical, phenomena called La Nina that’s part of El Nino Southern Oscillation pattern,” carter said.
Carter noted that most scientists now agree climate change is being caused by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels which add more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, resulting in rising temperatures, melting glaciers and ice caps, sea level rise and overall changing weather patterns.
Climate change “could be intensifying El Nino events and making these events happen more frequently,” Carter said. “Currently the globe is experiencing the effects of La Nina.”
El Nino and La Nina are patterns of shifting winds and ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean between South America, Australia and SE Asia. “This pattern oscillates between El Nino and La Nina conditions every 3-7 years, bringing different weather patterns around the world, which is likely a major reason why Australia is experiencing record flooding,” Carter observed.
Normally the trade winds blow from east to west, they reverse during an El Nino event and return to their normal direction during La Nina but with greater intensity. The stronger trade winds during La Nina events move warmer surface waters toward the coast of Australia giving them warmer and rainier conditions than the Americas.
Carter sees climate change as a major cause of the extreme weather in Australia. “Overall, the average sea surface temperatures have risen 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1901 due to climate change, and warmer oceans will most certainly influence weather patterns and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation,” she said.
I agree with Ms. Carter: climate change has been affecting the world severely. The world needs to wake up. If these new natural disasters become the “new normal,” humanity could become extinct. People need to have faith in science, there is scientific proof the floods in Australia are related to climate change. It is quite worrying knowing my country has been affected this badly, my attitude towards climate change has changed. This is a serious matter.
