Hurricane damages may grow when global temperatures rise, owing to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
Computer simulations of regional economic sectors and supply networks in the United States now demonstrate that the consequent economic losses will not be offset nationwide at some point if global warming continues unchecked.
According to the experts who conducted the study, if too many industries and the like are struck by the hurricane and shut down, other nations will have to step in to provide the supply of goods.
As a result of global warming, hurricanes will have a greater economic impact on the United States.
Economic losses from hurricanes become too big to be offset by the US
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Tropical cyclones get their energy from the surface heat of the water, as per ScienceDaily.
Warmer air may also retain more water, which can eventually be released in torrential rains and flooding that commonly occur when a cyclone makes landfall, according to Robin Middelanis, lead author of the study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Potsdam University.
It has long been obvious that if we continue to heat up our Earth system, hurricane damage will increase.
While there may be fewer storms in the future, the strongest of them may become more destructive.
Losses in local manufacturing spread throughout supply chain networks
The scientists examined Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Texas and Louisiana in 2017 and cost an astounding sum of 125 billion US dollars in direct losses alone, and calculated what its effects might be like under various degrees of warming.
Importantly, local company disruption losses spread throughout the national and global supply chain networks, resulting in significant indirect economic repercussions.
The scientists discovered that if climate change continues, the supply networks of the US national economy cannot compensate for future local output losses from storms in their models of over 7000 regional economic sectors with over 1.8 million supply chain links.
Ironically, in the case of Hurricane Harvey, it is the oil and gas sector in Texas that suffers the most from the effects of storms caused by global warming - while global warming is caused by emissions from burning oil and gas, as well as coal.
The fossil fuel extraction industry is significant in that part of the United States, and it is prone to cyclone damage.
According to computer projections, output losses in the fuel industry will be among those most heavily compensated for by nations, such as Canada and Norway, as well as Venezuela and Indonesia, at the expense of the US economy.
Because of America's wide coastline, shipping, receiving, tourist, and foreign trade are all more accessible, as per DTN.
Unfortunately, so much coastal land contributes to the economic devastation inflicted by a storm.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the nation's vast coastal areas provide up to 40% of domestic jobs and 46% of GDP.
Just one Category 3 hurricane wreaking havoc on the coastline might result in significant financial losses at best and catastrophic losses at worst.
Over the previous five years, hurricane seasons have gotten increasingly expensive, with financial losses of more than $20 billion every year.
Furthermore, as our climate changes, hurricane seasons are anticipated to worsen.
Conservative storm damage forecasts over the next 50 years may exceed $35 billion in materials, labor, and economic disruptions.
All of the climate and meteorological data point to more named storms each hurricane season. Furthermore, a larger proportion of those storms develop into hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher.
It will be critical to staying ahead of storm forecasts and climate trends for disaster preparedness and financial damage reduction.
