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39 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back

How can a Nation respond to climate change? 3 Main ways.

There are essentially two tactics local authorities and state governments employ to tackle climate change at a national level.




Energy Conservation:


- Incentivising helpful individual responses to climate change (e.g. using smarter efficient home appliances, walking / cycling to work more, greener transport)


- Investing in the National Grid; making the transfer of power more efficient by upgrading the power line infrastructure as well as making power generation more efficient by upgrading to newer generation power stations etc.




Greener forms of power:


- Investing in greener sources of energy like renewables; wind, solar, tidal as well as in scientific research for newer methods like Nuclear Fusion.


- Promoting less polluting fuel for cars, such as by encouraging biofuel (brazil has done this).


- Encouraging people swap to electric or hybrid cars by incentivising tax breaks.




Transport:


- Developing the underground like London has done to make it more accessible, affordable and extensive so that as many people as possible can rely on it to commute to work. (Has succeed as 40% of London's workforce use it daily.)


- Making Public Transport itself greener by making buses run on Hybrid engines which minimises pollution released into the atmosphere.


- Adding a congestion charge for the CBD like in London, deter's people from driving in and rather to use public transport or walk / cycle instead.


-----------------


Energy Conservation; Greener Power sources; Transport.



How can an Individual respond to climate change?

Lifestyle:


- Changing eating habits. (Agricultural industry currently produces more greenhouse gases than the fossil fuel industry combined). Reducing demand will lower supply and will lead to reduced emissions.


- Walking / cycling to work more.




Transport:


- Using more public transport instead of driving to work; reduces emissions.


- Walking / cycling to work.


- Using efficient hybrid / electric cars like Tesla which offer much cleaner vehicle transport. (Even considering the way the power is generated, it saves about 50% of the emissions).




Energy Conservation:


- Reduce, reuse & recycling.


- Using smart efficient home appliances like dish washers, fridges, washing machines, televisions, and computers which are 'energy-saving' and use little power when not being used.


- Disconnecting from the grid and relying on solar power or wind generation. (Tesla power wall).




Political:


- Organising grass-roots political movements to fight against vested interests and corporations that prevent national governments from acting against climate change. Most recent example of this is Brazil which managed to fight against the oil industry to allow citizens to choose between regular fuel and bio-fuel and has more recently undergone a supreme court decisions to move money out of politics, the repercussions from this decision will allow Brazil and it's people to make effective decisions in response to climate change.


-------------


Lifestyle; Transport; Energy Conservation; Political.

What are Global responses to climate change?

1997 Kyoto Protocol


- Diplomatic effort by MEDCs to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions down by ~5% from 1990 levels (including CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxides, etc) by 2012.


- Commitments were made depending on the net-emissions of the country i.e. if they overall reduced or contributed to emissions globally.


- The majority of major countries agreed, with the exception of some big players like USA, China and Australia which were some of the biggest polluters at the time, as they feared it would impact their economies.


- Enacted a Carbon-Credits trading scheme whereby an enterprise-market was created for reducing CO2 emissions by having a set-amount of 'allowed' emissions that are traceable with peer nations. Issues with this include the fact that penalties are mild for not complying, and are rarely enforced alongside poor regulation.




Doha 2012 Agreement:


- This was designed to extend the Kyoto 1997 protocol all the way to 2020.


- New decisions include making richer nations financially accountable to peer nations for not meeting reduction targets.




COP 21, (Paris Agreement):


- Widely regarded as the biggest diplomatic success ever achieved.


- It's main goal was to get all major countries to sign on and agree to prevent the global average temperature from increasing 2°C , with a stretch goal of keeping the increase below 1.5°C.


- It was effective in that all major countries, including the US, China, and Australia, agreed to sign on.

Primary sources of evidence for recent global warming.

- Historical data from instrumental readings from about the 1850's.


- Glacial and ice sheet retreat. 25% will have been lost by the year 2050.


- Reduction of Arctic ice cover --> It has halved in thickness over the past 30 decades.


- Sea level rise. ~2mm Annual sea level rise occurred within the last century, whereas this has increased to 3mm annually within the last decade.


- Record high temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events such as the 2003 European heatwave.


----------


Glacial / Ice sheet retreat; Accelerated sea level rise; Instrumental readings; Thinning Arctic Ice Cover

Secondary evidence for global warming.

- Dendrochronology (analysing the formation of tree rings which gives insight into the conditions of the climate at time of formation).


- Ice Core analysis. Gives insight into chemical composition of the atmosphere with increased depth.


- Ocean Sediments organisms. They form at the surface and take in CO2 and then fall to the sea floor, then can be analysed to infer their climate conditions.


- Pollen analysis tells scientists about the types of plants that were growing, and they can infer the climate based on what conditions they know the plants to grow in.


- Historical Records of measurements taken over the past few centuries which indicate an increasing global temperature.


--------


Tree Rings; Ice Cores; Pollen; Historical Records.

Possible natural sources for global warming.

- Volcanic eruptions which spew out large volumes of ash, CO2 and other greenhouse gases.


- Eccentric orbit of the Earth which results in varied insolation.


- Solar output cycles of which the subsequent variations are thought to have been responsible for the 'mini ice-age' which wiped out the vikings.


- Tectonic plate movement, which causes long-term climate change as continents are moved into different climate regions.

Global Impacts of global warming.

- Sea level rise; estimated to be 1-3m by the end of the century.


- Melting permafrost in places like Canada will de-stablilize building foundations.


- Arctic Ice melt will impact ecosystems and contribute to sea-level rise.


- Agriculture & food supply will be affected, Poleward regions will become more productive as increased temperatures allow for more and new crops to be grown, whereas tropical regions will suffer from decreased productivity as temperatures become too hot to grow crops. Vegetation belt shift.


- Energy consumption will change. Already hot areas will experience higher use of A.C. while traditionally colder regions may experience a drop in power usage as less heating is required.


- Health issues such as heat stroke and increased photochemical smog which will affect respiratory health.


- Ecosystems which can't adapt to the warmer temperatures will die out, affecting biodiversity.


- More extreme weather events will occur leading to economic impacts and widespread injury and death. (European 2003 heatwave).


---------


Agricultural change/ Vegetation belt shift; Energy Consumption changes;


Ice melt sea level rise;


Melting permafrost;


Biodiversity;


Extreme weather events;


Health issues.

How will climate change affect tropical regions?

- The Indian Monsoon will become less predictable and may not correspond with the change in season anymore. As a result agriculture will become less productive due to longer droughts, loss of land as well as soil salination.


- Monsoon areas will get hotter by about 2-4°C by the end of the century.


- Longer droughts, and longer rainfall periods.


- Sea level rise will make many areas in Bangladesh uninhabitable. As a result many will migrate to neighbouring India which will cause a lot of stress on services and resources.


- Tropical cyclones will occur more often, with increased intensity. This will lead to more storm surges, flooding, and widespread injury / death.


---------


2-4°C Increase by 2100;


Sea level rise bangladesh move to India;


Less predictable monsoon affecting economy;


Longer droughts and longer rainfall;


Stronger and more frequent tropical cyclones;


Agriculture productivity drop.

Global warming impacts in the UK

- 4°C Increase by the end of the century.


- 1m Sea level rise by end of century.


- Wetter winters and drier summers.


- Increased drought lowering agricultural productivity, especially in Southern England. This will put stress on artificial water supplies.


- Vegetation belts will shift North as those areas become warmer.


- Biodiversity affected by loss of ecosystems that can't cope with the changing climate.


- Ski resorts particularly in Scotland will be threatened by lack of snow due to higher temperatures.


- Pests may spread to UK due to the warmer climate; may attract diseases like Malaria which will put a strain on the NHS.


----------


Agricultural productivity;


Droughts (S.E.) artificial water;


Tourism Ski resorts;


Pests & Malaria on NHS;


Temp (4°C) & 1m Sea level rise by 2100.

How and why are winds affected by the Coriolis force?

(The Coriolis force is the Earth's Rotation.)


The rotation of the Earth causes winds to be deflected westwards. 


In the Northern Hemisphere, the winds and ocean currents are deflected to the right, while in the Southern Hemisphere this causes ...

(The Coriolis force is the Earth's Rotation.)




The rotation of the Earth causes winds to be deflected westwards.




In the Northern Hemisphere, the winds and ocean currents are deflected to the right, while in the Southern Hemisphere this causes the winds to be deflected towards the left.






This effect extends to the prevailing winds linked into the tri-celluar model of the atmosphere.

What is 'Geostrophic wind'?

This is the effect whereby wind caused by pressure gradients is exactly matched by the deflected wind caused by the Coriolis force to create a kind of equilibrium.

How does energy redistribute itself around the Earth? (Wind / Air).

- Localised convection causes heat energy and moisture to rise, allowing for latent heat transfer to occur.


- At the ITCZ, convection currents propagated by the uplift of tradewinds allow for warm, moist air to rise upwards and diverge polewards. This uplifting air marks the start of the Hadley Cell as suggested by the tri-celluar model of the atmosphere.


- As they approach the Horse lattitudes, the wind then diverges and creates an area of low pressure at the border between the Ferrell cell and the Hadley cell. As the air sinks, it travels polewards once again, this time closer to the surface, and is forced updward at the polar front where the ferrel cell meets the polar cell, causing an area of low pressure as the air is forced upward, and travels at a higher alltitude towards the poles, where the warm tropics air is replenished with coolar polar air, which returns via surface winds and trade winds back to the ITCZ where it is once again heated and pushed through the entire system once again.


Formation of a depression.

3 Stages;


Embryonic Stage:


- The Warm Tm air mass meets with the Cold Pm air. The warm Tm air is less dense than the Colder Pm air, causing it to rise over when they interact, at the polar front.


Open / Mature Stage


- The 'kink' developed by the pushing Tm air is further developed. The Coriolis force causes a surface uplift of swirling air much like a vortex, forcing surface air to constantly be replenished, and increasing the pressure gradient. At this stage, the warm and cold fronts become defined, and are typically propelled Eastward across the british Isles by westerly prevailing winds.


Occlusion / Death


- Because depressions over the British Isles are being pushed along Eastward by westerly prevailing winds, this causes the cold front which presides to the left of the warm front to travel at a higher velocity than the warm front. As such, the cold front inevitable catches up with the warm front, where at such point the warm sector diminishes and the air pressure rises as cold air fills it in. This forms an occluded front as the depression fades away.

Describe and account for the climate in a tropical area you have studied.

South-East Asian Monsoon;


- Lasts from April to October


- Corresponds with the position of the ITCZ. In summer, the ITCZ lies right on the land in places like Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. This means that tradewinds converge right over the land and attract a lot of moisture, particularly SE tradewinds which bring up moisture from the Indian Ocean up over the mainland where it precipitates about 3000mm/yr.


- During the winter, the air is much drier as the ITCZ shifts southwards, controlling over the ocean. As such, this drags moisture away from the land, and brings air in from over the Himalayas which dries out most of the moisture on it's way accounting for the cool and dry weather which lasts from October to April.

Describe the conditions necessary for tropical revolving storms to form.

- Warm oceanic heat source of at least 26˚C up to a depth of at least 50m in order to sustain a large enough heat source to be able to heat a large enough air mass above for long enough to de-stabilize it.


- They are typically located 5-20˚ north or south of the equator as this allows for enough energy to make it spin from the Coriolis force and make it revolve.


- They tend to occur within the trade wind belts as they provide warm surface winds as they blow toward the equator and warm up, contributing to the ocean warmth.


- They tend to occur during autumn season after the sea has been warming up during the summer period, enough to provide a sustained heat source for the tropical revolving storm to form.


------------


- Warm ocean >26˚C at least up to 50m; energy to destabilise air mass.


- 5-20˚ N or S of equator for enough coriolis


- Trade wind belt as they warm approaching equator


- Occur in autumn after summer.

Describe the characteristic behaviour of tropical revolving storms after they form.

Once they reach land, they tend to move to the nearest pole and serve as another way of re-distributing the energy from the equator to the poles.




Once they are disconnected from their oceanic heat source they tend to lose energy very rapidly and become storms before they are classified as depressions.




They tend to move westward due to the deflection of winds westward via the coriolis force, and this often sets them up on fairly unpredictable courses.


-------------


Westward unprecitable; Polewards on land; storm then classified as depression.

Describe how Hurricanes / Tropical revolving storms are formed. (Process)

- After being provided with a sustained heat source over the ocean (26C at depth of at least 50m), they occur when the ITCZ shifts north in late summer, as to take advantage of the warm trade winds which converge over the warm oceans, causing them to rise as they do so.


- The uplift from the converging tradewinds causes an area of low pressure, and therefore a depression.


- The converging trade winds serve as to increase the rate of evaporation occurring on the surface of the ocean, and contribute to the latent heat which goes into transferring water into water vapour, and is then released at altitude as the moisture condenses, where it contribute to the driving force of the storm.


- Once the depression of the storm reaches the mature stage, an eye forms of about 30-50km in diameter.


An Eye is an area of subsiding air with light winds, high pressure and high temperature which exhibits relatively calm conditions.


- The sinking air in the eye serves as to de-stabilize the storm further through heating, and contributes to the intensity of the storm.


- At such point the depression may be classified as a tropical revolving storm / hurricane.


-----------


- Trade winds converge in summer


- warm oceans heat up wind cause it to rise


- depression formed


- trade winds increase evap. and latent heat.


- latent heat released as condensation & contributes to driving force


- once mature stage is reached, 30-50km eye wall formed.



- subsiding air through the eye de-stablizes storm through heating and contributes to intensity


- can now be classified as hurricane.

Background info on 2005 Katrina Hurricane case study.

- Formed 26th August over the Bahamas.


- Gained strength over the gulf of Mexico, and was a full blown hurricane by the time it reached land.


- Cat. 5 by the time it reached Florida.


- 8.5m storm surge in New Orleans.


- Winds of up to 280km/h + and a central pressure of about 900mb.



Economic impacts of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

- 250k jobs lost directly or indirectly due to the storm.


- Damage cost estimated over $300 Billion.


- 30 Oil rigs on the gulf of mexico destroyed.


- $5 Billion lost by Mississippi logging sector as around 5000km^2 of forestry was destroyed.

Social impacts of 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

- ~2000 people killed.


- 300,000 homes destroyed.


- Water supplies were polluted due to the dead bodies, spreading waterborne bacterial diseases like cholera, although only 5 people died from this.


- Almost 100 schools in the regions affected like Louisiana, New Orleans and Florida were completely destroyed or badly damaged, causing the children to fall behind in their school work compared to others in the same grade.


-----------


2000 died


300k homes lost


100 schools destroyed; edu lag


waterborne disease; 5 died.

Environmental impacts of the 2005 Katrina.

- 30 Oil rigs spilled which caused great damage to ecosystems along the Gulf of Mexico, contributing to some of the many 500 'dead' zones around the world. Oil companies still have not claimed responsibility for this.


- 5000km^2 of forestry destroyed in Mississippi.


- Coastal turtle breeding grounds destroyed.


- Permanent flooding of Salt Marshes in Louisiana has lead to habitat loss.

Management of Katrina before the storm hit.

Mostly consisted of warning the public;


- The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) had been using sophisticated software in order to be able to interpret the many piles of data they had been obtaining from 'hurricane hunter' air-based observation vehicles in order to use computer modelling to predict the possibility of an occurrence as well as its path.


- On 26th August, the NHC issued a hurricane warning for Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. They continually monitored the storm and gave periodic updates to local authorities about its whereabouts and progress.


-------------


data;hurricane hunter;interpret;modelling;prediction.


26th offical hurricane warning;louisiana,mississippi,alabama;updating authorities.

Immediate responses to katrina.

- Periodic updates by the NHC to local authorities mainly in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida about the progression of the storm.


- Affected states like Louisiana declared in a state of emergency, causing US coast guard to be deployed.


- On the morning of the 28th, the mayor of New Orleans conducted a mandatory evacuation of the region. About 80% of the population was able to leave before the hurricane hit land, potentially reducing the death toll as less people were in the path of the storm.


- Many of those who weren't able to evacuate took refuge in the super dome. (Almost 30k). Which was outfitted with food, water and other supplies to temporarily shelter the survivors. This was criticised as local authorities only prepared for the arrival of 15,000 people but almost twice as many showed up.


- Charities raised up to $4 Billion to help those affected. Salvation army served up to 6million people with meals in the days after the storm took place.


-------------


- FEMA


- US Coastguard deployed to most affected areas.


- $4 Billion in aid from charities; 6 million meals from salvation army.


- 28th morning mayor of new orleans mandatory evac.


- superdome prepared for 15,000 temporary shelter, almost double showed up tho


- affected states declared in a state of emergency.

Critiques about the management of the storm-event.

- Superdome not prepared for nearly enough people; food,water and other supplies were preppred for an expected 15,000 people, but 26,000 showed up, almost double, stressing the supplies.


- Not nearly enough troops were deployed to prevent the large amounts of looting that took place as the storm hit, contributing to the $300 billion lost in damages.


- Mandatory evacuation saved lives but critisized for local authorities not taking into account those with no cars; this contributed to overflow of people in the superdome in New Orleans in particular.


--------------


Superdome not enough supplies


Not enough troops to prevent looting


Evac. not considered for people without cars.

Long-Term responses for Katrina.

- Congress approved funding at the federal level to be able to fund repairs and upgrades to the flood levels which were certified for Category 3 storm surges, but faced with Cat. 5 from Katrina. They were reinforced with deeper foundations to prevent sliding in the wake of a storm surge. They did not approve cat. 5 because it would cost billions more and they are rare occurrences anyway.


- Congress approved just over $15 Billion to rebuilt and repair housing and infrastructure.


- Utility companies like electricity have provided relief rates to affected homes.


- Huge funds been spent on restoring the environment from organisations like FEMA to try and aid the natural recovery from ecosystems and the landscape.


- Monitoring agencies have improved their prediction and observation equipment and infrastructure to make more accurate predictions of storms in the future.


- FEMA and other organisations hiring thousands of personnel to train and support for long term recovery operations and the possibility of another storm.


-------


Congress cat. 3 wall reparation.


Congress $15+ billion to repair housing and infrastructure


Electricity utility relief to 30k affected homes


Huge investments from FEMA into restoring environments, wildlife and landscapes


Monitoring agencies like NHC upgraded equipment and observation stations to make more accurate prediction in future.

Background on Typhoon Haiian 2013.

- The storm peaked in intensity as it reached land in the Phillipines.


- Warm 27˚C sea catalyzed a strong storm as it provided a warm sustained power source for the storm.


- 20ft high storm surge, rushed in waves much like a tsunami would.


- It hit Taiyan in the evening, home to 200,000 people and made it particularly devastating.

Social impacts of 2013 typhoon haiyan

- Force of wind ripped apart A.C. Units which flew across the air and injured people.


- Cheaply built houses could not survive the up to 315km/h winds, only concrete buildings survived.


- 7500 people killed, upwards of 9 million affected.


- Traumatic for many, especially those who survived and were ripped apart from families as they had no way of communicating them due to the badly damaged underdeveloped communications infrastructure.


- Many mothers were shocked into labour early without any medical attention.

Economic impacts of the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan.

- Many areas in the Philippines especially Tacloban, home to 200k people, heavily relied on agriculture for subsidence farming and are the worlds leading exporters for coconut oil. The destruction has severely impacted the agra industry and completely destroyed the livelihoods for many; especially those who fished on the coast.


- Devastation amplified by lack of development and widespread poverty which meant that the Gov. could not respond to the crisis and had to rely on NGOs and foreign aid.


- The country was undertaking a goal to advance its agriculture to become comlpetely self-sufficient for food, but the disaster has set them back tremendously.


- $3 Billion in damage for a less diverse economy of $250 Billion is devastating.



Environmental impacts of Typhoon Haiyan.

- Much farmland destroyed, including plots where rice is primarily grown and this had a great impact on agriculture due to the increased salination of the soil which decreased productivity due to the soil becoming less fertile.


- Great damage to marine life which greatly affected fishing communities.


- Coconut production affected by flattening of various coconut plantations.


- Thousands of hectares of rice destroyed.

Immediate responses for Typhoon Haiyan.

- Concrete construction of hospitals ensured reliability, but were breached on roofs and ground, so many patients had to be transmitted to middle floors to avoid being affected.


- Most of the locals had to rely on the community in order to be rescued; government did not make any provisions for search and rescue teams, and so many were faced with seeking refuge in the homes of those who had built them out of concrete that could survive the intense winds and strong storm surge.

Long - Term responses for Typhoon Haiyan.




(Management after the storm hit)

- Mostly relied on NGOs funding relief efforts; like SaveTheChildren, Oxfam and Unicef which all built faciliites like temporary shelters and distributed supplies to help with long-term recovery efforts like replenishing the livelihoods of those who particularly worked in the agricultural industry as it had been most affected due to Tacloban's dependance on it.


- Instead of funnelling aid in the form of capitol injection, NGOs instead were deployed on the ground and offered services that were needed most in accordance with what they saw with the locals. They in effect 'bypassed' government and the possibility that the money would get into the wrong hands due to corruption.


- Government mostly focused on cordinating with NGOs, they did not quite have the capitol to head relief efforts but were able to provide intel to NGOs about what was needed the most and where.

Characteristics of the Great Storm of 1987.

- Worst storm in living memory.


- Wind speeds exceeded 70+ knots in Southern England for 3-4 hours straight.


- Maximum recorded wind speed was over 120 knots.


- Inland areas affected much less than the coast because the storm had lost a lot of energy by then.


- Exhibited hurricane-like qualities and was mistake by such by many due to the strong winds.


- Deemed a one-in-200 year event.


- Notorious for its media mishap with the Tv presenter Michael Fish.


-----------


worst in living memory


70+ knots for 3-4 hours straight


max speed over 120 knots


inland areas not as affected as storm lost energy


hurricane-like qualities esp. wind


one in 200 year event.

How did the Great Storm of 1987 form?

- Rapidly deepening depression over the Bay of Biscay.


- Central pressure of 970mb over the Bay of Biscay on Oct. 15th 1987.


- By early morning the central pressure had dropped even further to 950mb.


- The storm was powered by strong South-Westerly winds which pushed it in a North-Easterly direction over Southern England.


--------


Bay of biscay


970mb


by early morning 950mb


pushed by south westerlies over S.E.

Prediction efforts / responses to the Great Storm of 1987 before it hit.

- The MET office sent periodic updates and warnings throughout the night to the Ministry Of Defence and relevant authorities, as well as the general public through the media.


- The Media insisted that the 'rain' was going to be the most prominent feature of the storm, but this was misleading as it was the 70+ knot winds that caused the most damage.


- MET Office put the Fire Brigade and Military on standby fearing a possible natural disaster.


- Computer models which were being used by the MET office predicted that Southern England would be most affected, but was fuzzy about more precise details. Computational power at the time was fairly limited for use with atmospheric algorithms.


--------


MET; period updates to MOD & authorities. fire brigade and army on standby.


PC modelling showed S.E. affected but fuzzy about details.


Media pushed rain instead of winds; misleading.

What path did Great Storm of 1987 take?

- The depression was only on land for about 2-4 hours after midnight. Because most people were at home sleeping this meant that less were in direct path of the storm and possible reduced the causality count significantly.

- The depression was only on land for about 2-4 hours after midnight. Because most people were at home sleeping this meant that less were in direct path of the storm and possible reduced the causality count significantly.


Social impacts of the Great Storm of 1987.

- Killed ~20 people.


- Fallen trees obstructed roads which prevented people from getting to work. About 50% of London's work force didn't show up.


- The scenes of the aftermath were reportedly 'apocalyptic' in nature, with meany suffering from emotional trauma.


- The blocked transported essentially trapped many at home, not able to leave for work or to buy groceries or supplies. Communications infrastructure was damaged and phone lines overloaded.


- The National Grid had sustained serious damage to the storm and officials had to decide between keeping it on and risking serious damage due to overheating of the infrastructure, or to cut off supply to Southern England at the first signs of overheating. The latter was finally decided on and reparations took about a week.


---------


~20 ppl killed


Fallen trees > 50% missing work


apocalyptic & emotional trauma


national grid powered off due to overheating



Economic impacts of Great Storm of 1987.

- Gatwick airport closed down due to high wind speeds. (100+ knots).


- Est. ~£1.5 Billion in damages.


- Lack of power (N.G.) and workforce affected Asian markets and stock trading in particular as there were no people or power for computers to trade.


- 90% Deforestation, over 15 million trees.


- National Grid & Comms damaged.


- A large ship at Dover was tipped, along with many small boats also being damaged.

Short-Term responses to the Great Storm of 1987.

- Largely focused on cleanup efforts to clear out trees to allow road transport so that schools & businesses could re-open.


- Focus on repairing the National Grid in under a week, due to the overheating issues sustained that forced them to cut off supply to Southern England.

Long-Term responses to the Great Storm of 1987.

- The MET Office was heavily criticised for it's mishandling of the event, but it was largely the miscommunication between the media that caused the most confusion.


- An internal inquiry at the MET Office lead to improvements in monitoring such as more accurate and up-to-date computer modelling as well as utilising ships, aeroplanes and satellites to increase the 'quality and quantity' of observations.


-------


MET Office critisized for mishandling.


Internal inquiry > improvements to quantity and quality of observations