Earthquake, floods, and fires...the most prominent things that happened in 2023

Weather of Arabia - It is no secret that one of the most prominent natural disasters that our region witnessed during the year 2023 was the earthquake in Turkey and Syria that occurred at dawn on the sixth of last February, with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. Another 7.7-magnitude earthquake followed in the same afternoon, exacerbating the disaster and causing the death toll to rise to more than 50,000 people in total, in addition to a rise in the number of injured and the displacement of millions of people from the affected areas.

Catastrophic earthquakes of 2023

On September 8, Morocco suffered another earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8, with the epicenter located about 75 kilometers southwest of the city of Marrakesh, near the town of Ighil in the Atlas Mountains. This earthquake caused the death of nearly three thousand people, according to reports.

According to the US Geological Survey, Morocco has not witnessed any earthquake with a magnitude of 6 or more within 500 kilometers of the epicenter since 1900.

From Morocco to Turkey, all the way to Afghanistan, which last October witnessed another earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people in areas where the probability of earthquakes is high. These areas are located along the "Alpine Belt", a seismic and mountainous belt that extends more than 15,000 kilometers along the southern margin of the continents of Asia and Europe.

The Alpine belt extends from Sumatra, then crosses the Indian Peninsula, then the Himalayas and the regions beyond, then the mountains of Iran, the Caucasus, and Turkey, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, and even the Atlantic Ocean. This belt is responsible for 17% of the world's major earthquakes.

Climate change disasters in 2023

In addition to the natural disasters mentioned previously, 2023 saw other extreme incidents that scientists believe are directly or indirectly linked to climate change. Average temperatures continue to rise rapidly, with some research sources recording 2023 as one of the hottest years in the history of measurement.

According to the IPCC report, it shows that climate change is significantly affecting many water-related variables, such as rainfall amounts and wind intensity, increasing the frequency and severity of floods.

In addition, melting rivers and ice sheets are contributing to rising sea levels on a global scale. Ocean and sea levels have risen by about 20 centimeters compared to what they were in 1900. This is the highest rate of rise in a single century in the past millennium, making it easier for sea water to rush into cities during floods.

Global Warming

Warming of the Earth's atmosphere causes an increase in moisture in the air, which increases the likelihood of precipitation. However, rainfall in this case has some negative aspects, as rising temperatures also lead to increased soil dryness, reducing its ability to absorb rainwater and contributing to the spread of water to areas further than usual.

This was demonstrated by several catastrophic floods in 2023, most notably the floods in Libya that resulted in the deaths of more than 11,000 people.

At least 16 cities in northeastern China also witnessed record rainfall and floods starting on July 29, resulting from Typhoon Duxuri, and Beijing witnessed the heaviest rainfall in a century and a half.

Unfortunately, the heavy rains and hurricanes did not stop, but rather increased in intensity during the month of August, causing mudslides and flash floods throughout China.

In Haiti, turbulent weather affected seven of ten departments, displacing more than 13,000 people in June 2023. Several countries were also hit by major floods caused by heavy rains and the rise of three rivers, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 people.

Floods can be considered one of the most prominent natural disasters that occurred frequently in 2023, as several countries around the world, such as Brazil, Ghana, India, the United Kingdom, South Africa, South Korea, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and Zambia, witnessed massive floods during this year.

Floods have always occurred, but climate change has increased their frequency, intensity and duration, and the impact has also extended to other natural disasters. Rising surface water temperatures in seas and oceans around the world are linked to an increase in the strength and frequency of hurricanes as a result of climate change.

A hurricane relies on ocean heat to sustain and generate the energy needed to fuel its circulation, which increases wind speeds. Therefore, scientists in this field confirm that rising temperatures resulting from climate change make the Earth vulnerable to more powerful and faster hurricanes.

This effect is evident in global hurricane data, where the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes (those with wind speeds exceeding 200-250 kilometers per hour) has risen from an average of 10 hurricanes per year during the 1970s to 18 hurricanes per year during the 1990s.

This effect was evident in many natural disasters that occurred in 2023, such as Hurricane Otis, which struck the Mexican coast last October 25 with winds reaching 250 kilometers per hour, surpassing Hurricane Patricia as the strongest hurricane to ever reach land, and resulting in massive destruction. In the Mexican city of Acapulco, where about 80% of hotels and 96% of businesses were destroyed.

Besides, some countries, such as the United States, have experienced an exceptional storm season, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declaring 2023 as one of the most expensive years for managing natural disasters. At least dozens of tornadoes were recorded in the United States during the year 2023, and the average number of deaths due to storms in the first three months of 2023 exceeded 76 deaths, making 2023 one of the years with the highest number of deaths due to storms in the United States.

Forest fires in 2023

The year 2023 witnessed catastrophic incidents of forest fires, as massive fires broke out in Algeria last July. The country witnessed about 100 fires in 16 states, killing at least 34 people, including 10 soldiers. Hot weather conditions and strong winds exacerbated the fires, as the temperature reached 48 degrees Celsius.

Climate change is increasing the frequency of heatwaves and droughts around the world, affecting plants and increasing the likelihood of fires. Previous studies show that forest fires in the Amazon, for example, are caused by a combined effect of increasing drought due to climate change and human activities affecting those forests.

In Europe, Greece recorded its strongest wave of greenhouse gas emissions from wildfires on record during 2023, and Hawaii in the Pacific experienced one of the deadliest US wildfires in more than a century. In Chile, unprecedented wildfires broke out in January 2023, causing hundreds of fires, destroying millions of acres, leading to 24 deaths and forcing a state of emergency in several regions.

Source: websites