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How and where do tropical storms and droughts form, and how are they managed?

Global weather hazards: the formation, structure and distribution of tropical storms, the causes of drought, the impacts of these hazards, and how they are managed, with a case study of each.

An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to global weather hazards in Theme 5, covering the formation, structure and distribution of tropical storms, the causes of drought, the impacts of these hazards, and how they are managed, with a case study of each.

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  1. What this dot point is asking
  2. How tropical storms form
  3. The structure of a tropical storm
  4. The impacts of tropical storms
  5. Drought and its causes
  6. Managing the hazards
  7. Try this

What this dot point is asking

This is part of Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) Theme 5, Weather, Climate and Ecosystems, a core theme in Component 2. Eduqas expects you to know the formation, structure and distribution of tropical storms, the causes of drought, the impacts of these hazards, and how they are managed, with a case study of each.

How tropical storms form

A tropical storm (hurricane, cyclone or typhoon depending on the ocean) needs specific conditions.

The structure of a tropical storm

A mature tropical storm has a clear structure.

  • The eye at the centre is calm, clear and low-pressure, where air sinks.
  • The eyewall around the eye has the strongest winds and heaviest rain, where air rises most violently.
  • Spiralling rainbands of cloud and rain wrap around the centre.
  • The storm can be hundreds of kilometres across and moves with the prevailing winds, weakening when it hits land or cooler water and loses its energy source.

The impacts of tropical storms

Tropical storms cause severe damage.

  • High winds destroy buildings, power lines and crops.
  • Torrential rain causes river flooding and landslides.
  • Storm surges (a wall of seawater pushed ashore) flood low coasts, often the deadliest effect.
  • Impacts are social (deaths, homelessness, disease), economic (damage, lost business and farming) and environmental (flooding, salination, habitat loss).

Drought and its causes

A drought is a long period of below-average rainfall that leaves a water shortage.

  • High pressure (anticyclones) that persist block rain-bearing systems.
  • Shifting ocean and wind patterns, especially El Nino, change where rain falls, causing drought in some regions.
  • Human causes: over-abstraction of water for farming, industry and cities can turn a dry spell into a crisis.

Drought brings crop failure, water shortages, famine, wildfires and conflict over water, hitting the poorest hardest.

Managing the hazards

Both hazards are managed in similar ways.

  • Prediction and warning: satellites and forecasting track tropical storms days ahead, and drought is monitored through rainfall and reservoir levels, allowing warnings and evacuation.
  • Preparation: storm shelters, sea walls, building design, evacuation plans, and water storage and conservation for drought.
  • Response: search and rescue, emergency aid, restoring services and rebuilding after a storm; water rationing, aid and new supplies during a drought.

Eduqas expects a case study of each (a named storm and a named drought) and rewards judging how effective the management was. Climate change may make both hazards more frequent or intense.

Try this

Q1. Describe the structure of a tropical storm. [4 marks]

  • Cue. A calm, clear eye at the centre; a surrounding eyewall with the strongest winds and rain; and spiralling rainbands wrapping around it.

Q2. Explain one human cause of drought. [4 marks]

  • Cue. Over-abstraction of water for farming, industry and growing cities can exhaust supplies and turn a dry spell into a serious water shortage.

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

Eduqas 2019 (style)4 marksExplain the conditions needed for a tropical storm to form. (Component 2)
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A 4-mark "Explain" question assessing AO1 and AO2. Markers reward the conditions linked to formation.

Award credit for: tropical storms form over warm ocean water above about 27 degrees Celsius, which provides the heat and moisture (energy). The water must be deep (at least 60-70 metres). They form between about 5 and 30 degrees north and south of the Equator, where the Coriolis effect is strong enough to make the storm spin, but not on the Equator itself. Warm, moist air rises rapidly, cools and condenses, releasing huge amounts of latent heat that powers the storm. A strong answer links warm deep water and the Coriolis effect to the rising, spinning storm.

Eduqas 2022 (style)8 marksUsing a tropical storm you have studied, assess the effectiveness of the responses to it. (Component 2)
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An 8-mark "Assess" question marked by levels of response, assessing AO1, AO2 and AO3, with SPaG credit. Markers reward a named storm, named responses and a judgement.

Strong answers take a studied storm (such as Hurricane Katrina 2005, Typhoon Haiyan 2013 or Hurricane Sandy 2012) and assess the responses. Cover preparation (forecasting and satellite tracking, warnings, evacuation, storm shelters and sea walls) and the immediate and long-term responses (search and rescue, emergency aid, restoring power and water, rebuilding). Then judge effectiveness: warnings and evacuation saved many lives where they worked (and failed where they did not, as in parts of New Orleans), aid was sometimes slow, and rebuilding took years. A good answer notes that effectiveness depends on the country's wealth and preparedness, and reaches a clear judgement. Markers reward the named storm and the supported judgement.

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