Why is the probability of a heat wave high?
The probability of a heat wave occurring is very high due to global warming and climate change . This is because global warming destroys the ozone layer which prevents harmful sun rays from reaching the earth surface. This increases the average global temperature and therefore the starting baseline for a heat wave.
How is a heat wave formed?
A heat wave is formed when the upper atmosphere contains high pressure which makes it stationary over a region. This stationary mass of air can remain stagnant for several days and weeks, trapping more heat and reducing convection currents.
What is a heat wave?
A heat wave is an unusually hot weather phenomenon in which a certain area experiences high temperatures and high humidity which can last for several days . During this period, the normal temperatures of the area are exceeded by a huge margin compared to the usual temperatures of that particular season. A heat wave poses many dangers ...
What are the effects of heat waves?
Aside from causing uncomfortably high temperatures, heat waves can result in heat illness, poor air quality, wildfires, and drought. Extremely high temperatures are associated with heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and heat cramps. When the external temperature is higher than the internal body temperature, our bodies become vulnerable to ...
Why are bushfires common during heat waves?
This is because the dried out vegetation can easily catch fire which easily spreads devouring a whole forest or vegetation cover. The infrastructure is also affected under this conditions.
What happens when heat hits a highway?
High heat causes highways and roads to buckle and crack, water lines can burst and transformers can explode. This physical damage to important infrastructure can delay service delivery and cost a lot of money to repair and replace.
Why is it uncomfortable to live in heat?
This has a bearing on many factors in society such as crime level. When the temperatures are unusually high, it has been noted that crime increases. In addition, there is an increase in interpersonal conflict due to high-stress levels.
Directions
Do research on how waves and even tsunamis are formed. Sudden wind movements, earthquakes, and even a chunk of an iceberg dropping into the Arctic sea can cause a perfect wave for a surfer on a Hawaiian beach. See wave formation first hand with this science-experiment diorama.
Standards
LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
Adaptations
Possible classroom resources include: Navigators: Extreme Weather by Margaret Hynes; Eye Wonder: Weather by DK Publishing; Extreme Weather (EXPERIENCE) by John Farndon; Tsunami: Helping Each Other by Ann Morris & Heidi Larson; Tsunami!: Deadly Wall of Water by Jeff Putnam; Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis: Projects and Principles for Beginning Geologists by Mattys Levy & Mario Salvadori.
When high pressure parks over your region, prepare for a sharp rise in temperatures
Tiffany Means is a meteorologist who has worked for CNN, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and more. Since 2017, she has worked as a freelance science writer covering natural disasters, the climate crisis, and the environment.
How Heat Waves Form
One of the key ingredients needed for heat waves to form is, of course, high temperatures. Another is a persistent region of high pressure in the upper atmosphere.
Measuring Heat Wave Intensity
During bouts of extreme heat, you'll likely hear the term "heat index" pop up. This is a fictitious temperature based on air's actual temperature and humidity that expresses how hot the human body perceives the air to be. 3 Meteorologists use it to gauge when a heat threat will reach dangerous levels, thereby impacting human health. 6
How Climate Change Affects Heat Waves
Heat waves in major cities across the United States have gone from occurring around twice per year during the 1960s to occurring more than six times per year during the 2010s, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. What's more, the average heat wave season has lengthened by nearly 50 days. 8
What causes waves?
Waves are most commonly caused by wind. Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by the friction between wind and surface water. As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave crest.
How do waves form?
Waves are created by energy passing through water, causing it to move in a circular motion. However, water does not actually travel in waves. Waves transmit energy, not water, across the ocean and if not obstructed by anything, they have the potential to travel across an entire ocean basin. Waves are most commonly caused by wind.
What is the energy that waves transmit?
Waves caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun are called tides . The ebb and flow of waves and tides are the life force of our world ocean.
What causes waves to move closer to land?
More potentially hazardous waves can be caused by severe weather, like a hurricane. The strong winds and pressure from this type of severe storm causes storm surge, a series of long waves that are created far from shore in deeper water and intensify as they move closer to land.
How are waves created?
Waves are created by energy passing through water, causing it to move in a circular motion. VIDEO: What are waves? Here's what you need to know in less than a minute. Transcript. The ocean is never still. Whether observing from the beach or a boat, we expect to see waves on the horizon.
Is a tsunami a tide?
These waves are tides or, in other words, tidal waves. It is a common misconception that a tidal wave is also a tsunami. The cause of tsunamis are not related to tide information at all but can occur in any tidal state.
What is a tall T wave?
Tall T waves in lateral leads along with tall R waves may be noted in left ventricular volume overload.
Is the T wave taller during acidosis or after correction?
The T waves were taller during acidosis than after correction. In this ECG, in addition to tall T waves (more peaked than in previous ECG), QRS complex is wide and has left bundle branch block pattern. There is ST segment depression and T wave inversion in the lateral leads, though the T waves are very tall and peaked in mid precordial leads.
Can tall T waves occur in acidosis?
Rarely, tall T waves can occur in acidosis without hyperkalemia [2]. In this study amplitude of T wave in V2 was positively correlated with hydrogen ion concentration. These T waves were also symmetrical and narrow based, the so called ‘tent shaped T waves’.
