Will climate change destroy New York City How can it be managed ( weather science) - Essay Example

As noted by Russs, Sandy resulted in damages amounting to about $20 billion with 43 people confirmed dead and many more injured by the storm. The transport facilities in the city, including highways, subways, railways and airports, were shut down. The city was thrown into darkness as critical infrastructure, including wastewater treatment plants, hospitals and infrastructure, were incapacitated. Communication systems were also cut following the effects of the storm. Reports on Hurricane Sandy pointed out the increase in the intensity and frequency of hurricanes observed in the North Atlantic from the 1980s.

The devastation caused by Sandy had been worsened by changing climatic factors. Partly to blame according to the New York City Panel on Climate Change, NPCC (4) was the rise in the sea level in the region around New York City which increased the magnitude and extent of coastal flooding during Hurricane Sandy. Therefore, New York City remains exposed to destructive effects of climate change. Borrowing from the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency, SIRR, report authored after the exposure of the vulnerability of New York City by Sandy, there exist genuine threats to the city.

Among the notable threats, heat waves, intense precipitation and coastal flooding have been noted to be the most extreme (NPCC 12). Heading towards 2050s, heat waves could increase in frequency, duration and intensity. New York has for a long time been experiencing an average of 18 days per year with temperatures of 32oC or 90oF and above. The SIRR report observes that by 2010, New York could experience between 26 and 31 such days. This could rise to up to 57 days a year by the year 2050. With this change would be an additional average of 110 to 260 deaths per year related to heat waves.

The number of days when rainfall exceeds 2 inches or 5 centimeters could increase from the current average of 2 days per year to five by 2020. Coastal flooding has been projected to