Medicans: hurricanes in the Mediterranean

Radio France International Science of the world

February 22, 2019

The Mediterranean could, by 2080, have heavier and more durable hurricanes, the so-called "drugs", even reaching categories 1 and 2, with winds of 119 km / h or more. The "good news" is that, according to this study, medicinal drugs will be less common. But the potential damage of these extratropical hurricanes would be very important to reach densely populated areas, including Greece, Italy and the Balearic region.

In general, hurricanes take place in the Pacific Ocean or in the Atlantic, in tropical waters. But at the end of this century, there could also be hurricanes of a certain intensity in the Mediterranean, Category 1 or even go to category 2

So far, the storms that have occurred in the Mediterranean have never reached Category 1, that is to say at 119 kilometers at the hour. But recent storms like Zorbas health insurance o Cyclone numa caused serious damage, in the case Cyclone Numa, which took place in November 2017, there was torrential rains in the Balkans and the death of 21 people in Greece, being the city of Athens most affected.

Medicane, Hurricane and Mediterranean

They are called "medicanes", contraction of the English and Mediterranean hurricane. A Mediterranean cyclone medical or tropical it's a strange weather phenomenon, which rarely occurs in the waters of the Mediterranean. And even the scientific community has not yet decided whether they are tropical cyclones, subtropical cyclones or polar depressions.

In any case, climate change is transforming the Mediterranean into a more favorable environment for the development of these powerful storms.

New study predicts more intense, long-lasting but less common drugs

A new study, published in Geophysical Research Letters says that by the end of the 21st century, for the year 2080There will be high intensity drugs, category 1 and even 2, especially in the fall. L & # 39; Article can be consulted right here.

Category 1 corresponds to winds of 119 km / h and category 2 of 154 km. And although a medical drug never reaches the intensity of a hurricane in the tropics, the potential damage can be very important to affect areas. crowded.

Another feature is that unlike tropical cyclones, which usually take several days to form, a drug can be formed. in a very short time, as was the case for medicama Numa, formed on November 16, 2017 and culminating on November 18 with winds of 101 kilometers to the hour.

In this picture, you can see how the Numa medicane It takes the typical structure of the hurricane, with an eye to the center, but smaller than a tropical cyclone.

The "good news" is that, according to the predictions of this model, these drugs will not be so common. But the few that are formed could they will be more intense and durable, causing heavy rains.

Respondent: Juan Jesús Gonzalez Alemán, researcher at the Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla la Mancha, Toledo, Spain, and principal author of this study.

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