Weather

Forecasting weather is an unsure science. There are too many variables involved and we are, in my opinion, too far behind, in terms of technology, to be able to accurately predict the way the weather will turn out. However there are many natural disasters that exist in this world and that, in time, we developed ways of predicting when they will occur and how to protect and prepare ourselves against them. I am actually quite lucky because I live in Montreal. The reason why this makes me so lucky is because Montreal is a relatively untouched area when it comes to severe natural disasters such as harsher earthquakes and tornadoes. However, this does not mean that we have never been affected by natural disasters. In 1998 for instance, Montreal went through a snow storm and lasted for six days. I was two years old when it happened, but I remember it was dark, cold and we began to run out of drinkable water later in the snowstorm, which caused panic for some people. The little bit that I remembered however, was that I was running around with my flashlight and sleeping a lot. It obviously must’ve felt pretty stressful for many people because people tend to panic when something does not go according to plan; whenever something out of the ordinary occurs. The snowstorm did in fact leave Montreal in bad shape. The trees were destroyed along with the electrical lines. The roads were coated with a thick coating of ice and the atmosphere felt miserable. This is an example as to why weather predicting is an unsure science.

Lately the weather has also been changing quite a bit. Our winters are warmer and our summers are more humid as well as warmer. The temperature has been rising. I have no idea as to what the exact cause could be, however my guess, from what I have read up on, is that the U.V. rays have been getting more and more intense. I think that this could be the case because of the fact that the ozone layer is getting thinner. People have been suggesting that this could very well be the problem and that the only way to prevent this from getting worse is by becoming more energy efficient. Others say that this is just a phase that the earth is going through. Because nothing in this world is absolute until it has happened, all I can say is that we have nothing to lose by trying. If we’re right, then we will see the results. If not, then at least we will eliminate another possibility for the cause of this. All we can do is try our best and make the effort to test this theory.

When my parents were young, they always told me that the winters were cold and harsh and that the winters that we face now are nothing in comparison and that the summers were nice and warm with the occasional summer breeze. Do I believe them? Yes I do. I think that this seems to be the truth as because the temperature has been getting warmer every year, it would only make sense that it was cooler back then. However, I also think that because technology has been advancing, the efficiency of what they had back then, in terms of clothing and heaters, must’ve also been worse in comparison to now and as a result, affected whether they felt cold or warm. This is why I also think that the technology affected the way they felt too.

Some cities are near the ocean. They are threatened by the rising sea levels. The question that we find ourselves asking each other is: “what should we do?” “Should we get these cities to change location or do we think of another solution?” To be honest, when the sea is going to rise, if it keeps rising, changing location would not make a difference. They would end up being submerged one way or another. My suggestion is that they should install drains and pipes drain the water that comes into the city and keep a large container underground with pipes leading to it so they could dump the water into the container. Then they could pump the water that was collected and, once treated, use it to water the vegetation and maybe even try to make it into drinkable water. If well thought out, they could use the rising sea levels to their advantage.