by Marie Kauna – EMTV Online, Port Moresby
Natural disasters have, and continue to strike many areas around the globe, affecting many in the process.
Apart from other contributing factors, too often this is blamed on climate change, thus the need to advocate for help to prepare for future disasters.
The Pacific region, like many others, is also being affected by the impact of climate change.
To further understand climate change and its impacts, Professor Andrew Short and his colleagues from the University of Sydney have conducted a study.
The study has found that El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate cycles are most strongly associated with beach erosion.
With relevant recorded data collected between the years 1979 and 2012 from 48 beaches around the Pacific, this has revealed a pattern of change matching the ENSO cycle.
According to Professor Short, the “recent evidence has suggested that the ENSO climate cycle will intensify with climate change, bringing more extreme El Nino and La Nina events, which will bring stronger storms to the Pacific”.
The study reveals that these cyclic climate changes may increase the risk of beach erosion around beaches across the Pacific.
