Adaptation10: August 2024

All across the world, climate change is making storms more powerful and more frequent. 

Tropical cyclones and hurricanes are drawing more power from warmer oceans, giving them greater destructive power. Populations in the US and the Caribbean are painfully aware of this shift. Hurricane Beryl, which tore through a host of Caribbean islands this June, was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in records going back almost 100 years — and has inflicted at least US$3.3bn of insured losses so far.

Beryl augurs the start of what experts predict will be a wild Atlantic hurricane season, one likely to bring hazards like damaging winds, storm surge, and inland flooding from heavy rainfall. In the Pacific, “Typhoon Alley” — a region encompassing the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and parts of China — is becoming ever more treacherous. Right now, southwestern Japan is under assault from Typhoon Shanshan. The storm had forced the evacuation of over one million people as of August 28.

Monster hurricanes and typhoons aren’t the only kinds of storms that climate change is making more dangerous. In Europe, furious windstorms have long wreaked havoc, and certain models estimate their intensity will ratchet up as the atmosphere warms further. Thunderstorms — also known as “convective storms” — are also blighting communities around the globe. Last year, these storms inflicted US$64bn of insured losses, according to Swiss Re.

The effects of human-induced warming on storms large and small will not go away any time soon. Certain impacts are essentially “locked in” because of the amount of greenhouse gas already in the atmosphere. This makes it imperative that communities, businesses, and governments improve their preparation for worsening storms, and take steps to reduce their destructive impacts.

In this month’s Adaptation10, we showcase ten solution providers tackling storm risks. Some are high tech and have global aspirations. Others are small, regional businesses rooted in specific communities facing specific problems. All are good examples of the emerging adaptation economy.

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Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall & Daniel Schmitz-Remberg