The Perfect Storm - How Climate Change is Supercharging Hurricanes

Google and Kairos Power to Launch Hermes 2 Nuclear Plant by 2030 Tesla Launches Six-Seat Model YL in China, Offers 751 km Range The Perfect Storm - How Climate Change is Supercharging Hurricanes.docx #climatechange, #hurricanes, #nuclearenergy, #electricvehicles, #Tesla, #renewableenergy, #environment

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Innovation Pulse, your quick, no-nonsense update on the latest in clean tech and EVs.

(00:10):
First, we will cover the latest news.
Google and Kairos Power plan to deploy an advanced nuclear plant by 2030, while Tesla
launches the model YL in China, expanding its EV lineup.
After this, we'll dive deep into the story of Hurricanes growing intensity, exploring
the influence of climate change and what it means for our future.

(00:36):
Google and Kairos Power plan to deploy an advanced nuclear plant, Hermes-2, connected
to the Tennessee Valley Authority's grid by 2030.
TVA will purchase up to 50 megawatts of power from this reactor, marking the first such
agreement with an advanced reactor in the US.
The electricity will power Google's data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.

(01:01):
Kairos and Google will assume the financial risk, ensuring consumers aren't burdened with
initial costs.
The project aims to make advanced nuclear technology commercially viable, as smaller reactors like
Hermes-2 could be more affordable and quicker to build than traditional large reactors.
Kairos uses liquid salt coolant, allowing lower pressure operation for safety and cost

(01:26):
benefits.
The collaboration sets the stage for East Tennessee to become a hub for nuclear innovation, potentially
transforming nuclear construction in the US.
Tesla has launched the Model YL in China, a larger version of the Model Y, with six seats,
priced at $339,000 Chinese yuan, or about $47,000 USD.

(01:53):
This new model, available on Tesla's online configurator, features a range of 751 kilometers
– 466 miles – based on the CLTC cycle.
It's slightly more expensive than the Model Y Long Range AWD, but offers similar range
due to its bigger battery.

(02:13):
The Model YL is about 180 millimeters longer, 24 millimeters taller, and has a wheelbase
150 millimeters longer, with up to 2,539 liters of storage.
Deliveries are expected in September.
While it's a competitive option within Tesla's lineup, it is more expensive than some local

(02:34):
competitors in China.
The potential for North American pricing remains, with expectations of around $51,000 USD.
And now, pivot our discussion towards the main clean tech topic.

(02:55):
Hey everyone, I'm Dana, and welcome back to Innovation Pulse, where we dive deep into
the science that's shaping our world.
Today, I'm joined by meteorologist and climate researcher, Jakov Lasker, to talk about something
we've been seeing more and more of lately.
Oh, you're setting me up with weather puns already.
But seriously, Dana, here's something wild.

(03:17):
Every single hurricane that formed in the Atlantic in 2024 was stronger than it would
have been if we were still living in 1924.
Every single one.
Wait, hold up.
Are you telling me we can actually measure the difference between what hurricanes are
like now versus what they would have been 100 years ago?
That's exactly what I'm telling you.

(03:39):
Just use something called attribution science.
Think of it like forensic meteorology.
They can literally calculate how much climate change has juiced up each storm.
Okay, this is fascinating, but before we get into the climate change piece, I feel like
we need to start with the basics.
Because honestly, I've been through hurricane seasons my whole life, but I realize I don't

(04:02):
actually understand what these things are or how they work.
Perfect place to start.
So hurricanes are basically nature's heat engines.
Think of them as massive atmospheric machines that convert the thermal energy from warm
ocean water into kinetic energy.
Wind, rain, that incredible spiral you see from space.

(04:24):
So they're like giant steam engines?
That's actually not a bad analogy.
The ocean is the boiler.
Evaporation creates the steam, and the whole system spins because of the Earth's rotation.
But here's the thing.
They need very specific conditions to form.
You need water temperatures of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit, low wind shear.

(04:47):
That's when winds at different altitudes aren't fighting each other, and you need to be far
enough from the equator for the Coriolis effect to kick in.
The Coriolis effect.
That's why they spin clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise up here, right?
Exactly.
And once they get going, they're categorized by wind speed.

(05:08):
Category 1 starts at 74 miles per hour, and it goes up to Category 5 at 157, meant pH
and beyond.
But here's what's really important.
The Saphir-Simpson scale only measures wind speed, not the total destructive potential.
What do you mean by that?
Well, think about Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

(05:30):
This was only a category 4 when it made landfall, but it stalled over Houston and dumped more
than 60 inches of rain in some areas.
The wind wasn't the killer.
It was the water.
That's actually become the pattern we're seeing more and more.
And this connects to climate change, Hal.
Here's where it gets wild.

(05:50):
Remember how I said hurricanes are heat engines?
Well, we're giving them more fuel.
The oceans have absorbed about 90% of the excess heat from global warming.
For every degree Celsius the atmosphere warms up, it can hold 7% more water vapor.
So it's like upgrading the engine?
More like upgrading the fuel.
The 2024 hurricane season was a perfect example.

(06:15):
Water temperatures in the Atlantic were 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than they would
have been without climate change.
It might not sound like much, but it's huge in hurricane terms.
How huge are we talking?
Hurricane Milton's wind speeds increased by 95 miles per hour in just 24 hours.

(06:35):
Climate Central found that without global warming, Milton wouldn't have reached category
5 status at all.
They also found that the warm ocean temperatures that fueled Milton's explosion were made at
least 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change.
100 times more likely?
That seems mathematically impossible.
I know it sounds extreme, but think about it this way.

(06:59):
Imagine you're rolling dice, but climate change is loading the dice.
Events that used to be incredibly rare, like those specific temperature conditions, are
now much more common.
It's probability, not magic.
So we're not just talking about stronger winds.
What else is changing?
Three main things.

(07:19):
And they're all bad news.
First, hurricanes are moving more slowly.
Hurricane Harvey crawled across Texas at about 2 miles per hour.
For comparison, that's slower than most people walk.
Why would a slower storm be worse?
Because it's like the difference between someone pouring a bucket of water over your
head versus standing under a waterfall for an hour.

(07:43):
Slow-moving storms dump more rain over the same area.
We're seeing 30, 40, even 60 inches of rainfall from single storms now.
Okay, slower storms more rain.
What's the second thing?
Rapid intensification.
Storms are getting stronger, faster.
The scientific definition is when a hurricane's wind speeds increase by at least 35 miles

(08:06):
per hour in 24 hours.
That used to be relatively rare, but in 2024 all the major hurricanes did this.
That sounds terrifying for emergency management.
Exactly.
If you're planning evacuations based on a Category 1 storm and it suddenly explodes
into a Category 4 overnight, that's a life or death problem.

(08:29):
Hurricane Michael in 2018 went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in just two days.
And the third change?
Sea level rise is making storm surges deadlier.
We've already seen about 7 inches of sea level rise since 1900 and it's accelerating.
When Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012, researchers found that the higher sea levels

(08:53):
made flooding three times more likely than it would have been in 1900.
Earlier you mentioned this attribution science.
How does that actually work?
It's like running parallel universe simulations.
Scientists use climate models to create two versions of the same storm, one in our current
climate and one in a world without human-caused warming.

(09:15):
Then they compare the results.
That's incredible.
So when you say every 2024, hurricane was stronger than it would have been.
They literally modeled what those exact same weather patterns would have produced in 1924's
climate.
Hurricane Helene's peak winds, for example, were about 16 miles per hour stronger because

(09:36):
of warmer oceans.
That's the difference between a strong Category 2 and a weak Category 4.
But wait, I'm curious about something.
Are we actually seeing more hurricanes overall or just stronger ones?
Great question.
The research is pretty clear.
We're not necessarily getting more hurricanes, but we're getting a higher proportion of

(09:57):
major hurricanes.
It's like the whole system is shifting upward.
Category 1 and 2 storms might become less common, but Category 4 and 5 storms are becoming
more frequent.
Let's bring this down to earth.
What did this look like in 2024?
Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, forming in early July.

(10:19):
Then we had this weird quiet period through what's normally the peak season, followed
by the devastating back-to-back punch of Helene and Milton.
Helene was the one that caused all that flooding in North Carolina, right?
Hundreds of miles from the coast?
Exactly.
The storm carried tropical moisture deep into the Appalachian Mountains.
Some areas got over 30 inches of rain, creating floods in places that had never seen anything

(10:44):
like it.
More than 100 people died in North Carolina alone, most from flooding, not wind.
And this is the new normal?
The projections suggest it's going to keep getting worse.
No AA is already predicting another above-normal season for 2025, with potentially 13 to 19
named storms.

(11:05):
The warm ocean pattern that's been fueling these intense hurricanes shows no signs of
cooling off.
Okay, so this is pretty scary.
But are there any technological innovations helping us deal with this?
Absolutely.
The forecasting has gotten incredibly sophisticated.
No AA can now issue Tropical Cyclone Advisories up to 72 hours before, storm surge, or tropical

(11:27):
storm.
Force winds arrive.
That used to be 48 hours.
The Climate Prediction Center has extended their global tropical hazards outlook from
two weeks to three weeks.
That's something at least.
What about the bigger picture?
Here's the thing.
We're locked into some level of change because the oceans are still absorbing heat from past

(11:50):
emissions.
But the severity of future hurricane seasons still depends on what we do about greenhouse
gas emissions.
The difference between moderate warming and extreme warming scenarios is huge when you're
talking about hurricane intensity.
So individual actions still matter?
Both individual and collective action matter enormously.

(12:12):
But we also need communities to adapt.
Building codes in hurricane-prone areas, improved flood infrastructure, better evacuation planning.
These are all part of the equation.
This has been eye-opening, Yakov.
If our listeners take away one thing from today's conversation, what should it be?
That the hurricanes of our childhood aren't the hurricanes of today.

(12:34):
The storms are supercharged now.
They're carrying more water, moving more slowly, and getting stronger faster.
If you live in a hurricane-prone area, the old playbooks might not be enough anymore.
And the science is giving us the tools to understand exactly how much our climate has
changed the game.
Right.
We're not just observing these changes.

(12:56):
We can measure them, attribute them, and predict how they'll continue to evolve.
That knowledge is power, even when the news isn't great.
Thanks for breaking this down for us, Yakov.
For everyone listening, next time you see one of those beautiful but terrifying satellite
images of a hurricane, remember, you're looking at physics in action, turbocharged by a changing

(13:18):
climate.
And maybe check your emergency kit while you're thinking about it.
Excellent advice.
I'm Donna.
Thanks for listening to Innovation Pulse.
And we'll catch you next time when we're diving into the surprising science behind
something else that's shaping our world.
We've explored Google's collaboration with Cairo's power to advance nuclear energy with

(13:42):
the Hermos II reactor and Tesla's new model YL launch in China, alongside the impact of
climate change on hurricane intensity, highlighting the importance of proactive measures.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this episode with your friends and colleagues
so they can also stay updated on the latest news and gain powerful insights.

(14:03):
Stay tuned for more updates.