The Low Carbon Partnership
Solar Power
Extreme winds
When the wind blows at high speeds it is very fierce and can be very destructive. But where does the wind come from in the first place?
Wind is the flow of air above the Earth’s surface. What we mean by air is actually the Earth’s atmosphere – that is, the mix of gases that we all breathe and need to survive. The atmosphere stretches from the ground to about 50km above us. That might sound quite a lot, but if the planet was the size of a football, the atmosphere would be a layer just 1mm thick on the surface of the ball. Even though the atmosphere is not very thick or heavy, the weight of all the air presses down at the Earth’s surface. This is called ‘atmospheric pressure’.
Atmospheric pressure is important because it causes the flow of air above the Earth’s surface. The warming rays of the sun make the air pressure higher in some places than in others. When an area of high pressure meets an area of low pressure, air moves towards the low pressure in order to equalise the pressure. When there is a big difference in air pressures, the air flows quickly, and creates high speed winds.
Since the warming rays of the sun affect air pressure, it is not surprising that global warming has an impact on wind patterns too. We now know that increasing temperature can cause more extreme variations in air pressure which makes stronger winds more likely. In fact, scientists believe that global warming is causing more intense hurricanes and typhoons. In these extreme storms that happen mostly in tropical areas the wind can reach almost 200mph!
