Natural disasters are present once in a while across the world. In your home country, you or someone you know has experienced a natural disaster like a hurricane or tornado. Maybe you’ve seen in the news that a natural disaster like the ones previously mentioned provoked many individuals to be homeless or dead. In this article, you are going to learn about a hypothetical natural disaster that has the capability of putting an end to the entire human race: Hypercanes.
Overview:
If ocean temperatures rose to about 50 °C (122 °F), which is 12 °C (21 °F) warmer than the warmest ocean temperature ever recorded, a hypercane, a hypothetical class of extreme hurricanes, might form. A significant supervolcanic eruption, a giant asteroid or comet impact, or widespread global warming could all cause such an increase. Some people speculate that the dinosaurs’ demise was caused by a series of hypercanes that resulted from an impact by a giant comet or asteroid. That is how Kerry Emanuel from MIT described this phenomenon.
Specs:
Hypercanes would have enormous lifespans, with winds exceeding 800 km/h (500 mph) and a central pressure of less than 70 kilopascals (21 inHg) (700 millibars). Typhoon Tip from 1979, which had a central pressure of 87 kilopascals (26 inHg) (870 millibars) and a wind speed of 305 km/h (190 mph), was the most significant and most intense storm on record. Eight times as powerful as the strongest storms ever recorded on the planet.
Possible catalysts and Opinions:
Plenty of moist, stormy air and very little hot ocean water would exist. Hurricanes today form in ocean water that is above 80 degrees. On the other hand, a massive underwater volcano or the collision of a giant asteroid with the tropical ocean could produce such intense heat.
“Think of it like Hurricane Katrina on Steroids.” Those are the words that Amy Marcott ( MIT Alumni Journalist) used to contrast this hypothetical catastrophe.
“Jupiter gets Hurricanes of winds over 350 mph with clouds extending 30 miles into the upper atmosphere.” (Reddit user DragonFireBreather, 2023) Again, to contrast how unbelievable this natural disaster could be.
