While the health effects of air pollution around the globe have long been a concern, accelerated levels in the early part of 2017 have once again brought the issue into focus.
An increasing trend towards wood burners in London raised fresh fears over the winter. According to campaigners, a perfect storm of airborne and vehicle pollutants led to the city exceeding its annual allowance for air quality just five days into the new year.
In February, Beijing residents were once again forced to confront the worrying link between air pollution and health as the three so-called ‘smog highways’ that criss-cross the region funnelled noxious particulates from local factories into the Chinese capital.
Is the health risk from air pollution increasing? A new WHO air quality model confirms that 92% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits.
India has now overtaken China in terms of the number of deaths due to outdoor air pollution, according to the Global Burden of Disease project. Its published data reveals that India witnessed 3,280 premature deaths (fatalities due to ozone concentration and particulate matter concentration) per day in 2015, whereas China had recorded 3,230.
According to the WHO, some of the highest levels of air pollution occur in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, with two out of three deaths attributed to these regions.
That’s no surprise to the residents of Hong Kong, where the correlation between air pollution and poor health remains a big concern.
Air quality is measured through average annual levels of PM2.5s, tiny pollutant particles that can embed themselves deep in the lungs. While these particulates may be generated naturally – for example, via dust storms or forest fires – the majority are created by motor vehicles and industrial activity, as well as the burning of household fuel and waste
Clean Air Network, a local NGO, has found that roadside pollution levels in the city have exceeded acceptable WHO levels for the past five years. In certain Hong Kong neighbourhoods, levels at times have been 2.5 times higher than the recommended amount.
Much of the blame is laid on the rising ownership of private cars (numbers have reportedly grown by 4.6% per year for the past decade), as well as a lack of regulation over fuels for ocean-going vessels; it’s a problem that shows little sign of going away.
Bangkok, however, appears to be cleaning up its act. Having imposed tighter controls over vehicle emissions and converting the Thai capital’s buses to gas, pollution levels have reportedly reduced considerably. However, more congested and industrial areas of the city do still frequently notch up unhealthy readings on the daily Air Quality Index.
Pathum Thani, Huaykwang, Ratchada and Praram 9, and other areas outside the city tend to register moderate to good readings, but some critics argue that patchy coverage continues to distort the true picture for Bangkok residents.
Is the health risk from air pollution increasing? While the air may be murky, it’s clear there are significant health problems caused by air pollution, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It links three million deaths a year to exposure to outdoor air pollution. However, it makes the point that indoor air pollution is just as deadly. And it is a problem that the WHO claims is getting worse.
The risk of air pollution on human health is well documented. This can include:
- Short-term allergy-like symptoms
- Serious respiratory conditions – such as asthma, bronchitis, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), emphysema and pneumonia
- Lung-based and other cancers
- Heart-related diseases
While it is still in its tentative stages, new research also suggests that exposure to particulates may accelerate cognitive aging and increase a person’s susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
For the most part, air pollutants remain invisible – so how can you combat the health problems caused by air pollution?
Some key tips include:
- Investing in an home HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter
- Wearing a high-quality face mask
- Keeping air-boosting house plants
- Using backstreets to avoid fumes on main thoroughfares
- Exercising earlier in the day (when traffic levels are lower)
- Checking pollution levels before leaving home or exercising
- Heading out after rainfall (which disperses particulates)
- Researching the best mode of transport – for example, walking can expose you to fewer pollutants than sitting in traffic
At your fingertips
Smartphone apps have brought air quality to the mainstream, offering users unprecedented access to essential data about the potentially harmful particulates around them at any given time. Products such as Plume or the Air Quality Index BreezoMeter offer excellent global coverage, enabling people to make more informed choices about their environment.


Our homepage has an northern light camera with which you can look at Lake Äkäslompolo and see for yourself when the northern lights light up!
Rent the Ylläs Northern Lights camera for your use, you can see the whole of the northern sky from east to west.
Forget shivering in the cold, go outside once you've spotted the northern lights rising.
2,99 € a day and 9,99 € a week.
Each of our cabins has a mobile phone. If we see the northern lights, we send an aurora alert to the cabins. And this alarm is not an "app" but real, human visual perception!
Of course we need to sleep too, but the northern lights are often visible early in the evening, they only need darkness to be seen, not midnight.
And remember that the northern lights can be seen from the end of August to the middle of April.


SKYWARN is a national network of volunteer severe weather spotters. There are currently over 230,000 trained SKYWARN spotters in the U.S. These dedicated citizens come from all walks of life and help keep their local communities safe by conveying severe weather reports to NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS). They are trained by local NWS meteorologists on how to safely observe severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, flooding, heavy snow, and ice accumulation. Where appropriate, training is received on other hazardous phenomena such as volcanic ashfall, waterspouts, rip currents, mudslides, and even earthquakes.


Carbon itself isn’t complicated…
but the ‘Carbon Economy’? Moreso….
It therefore pays to have a basic understanding of the science. And after that, the maths, economics, legislation, schemes and behaviours – all of which should add up to a fuller understanding of the obligations all businesses face in today’s drive to a low carbon economy.
Carbon is the fourth most abundant chemical element on Earth, and it’s plentiful throughout the solar system and in the atmosphere of most planets.
Because it’s very rare that one element is converted to another (under terrestrial conditions) the total amount of carbon on the Earth doesn’t change. This means that the natural processes that use carbon must get it from somewhere, and deposit it somewhere else.
This is known as the carbon cycle.
Plants extract carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the environment and use it to create vegetable matter, or biomass. This process transforms carbon from a gaseous to a solid state. Animals eat some of this vegetable matter, and the carbon is eventually released back into the atmosphere as CO2, as the animal expires, transforming it back from solid to gas.
Some vegetable matter is buried and decomposes over millions of years to form fossil fuels. This fixes the carbon into solid state for aeons – until the fossil fuel is burnt, releasing the carbon back into the atmosphere as CO2.
The Earth is heated by shortwave radiation in the form of solar energy reaching us from the sun. This energy is absorbed by the Earth’s surface, but the heat generated is then re-emitted in the form of infrared – or longwave – radiation that cools Earth as the heat is reflected back into space.
It’s this balance between the incoming solar energy and the reflected infrared radiation that determines the Earth’s temperature.
However, some of the outgoing infrared radiation is trapped by what are known as greenhouse gases, such as water vapour, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone.
This is commonly called the greenhouse effect – in itself this is an essential good for the planet as without the greenhouse effect the Earth’s surface would be, on average, 33°C colder than it is.
But because key greenhouse gases – most importantly CO2, methane and nitrous oxide – have been exacerbated and have accumulated over time the ‘natural’ greenhouse effect has been strengthened considerably to the point where the greenhouse effect is seen as a negative.
It’s widely accepted that atmospheric CO2 has increased by about 40% since the beginning of the industrial revolution, from around 280 to about 390 parts per million (ppm).
Records from ice cores suggest that it is now at its highest level for the past 800,000 years.
It’s also been shown that the extra CO2 that we can measure in the air today has a chemical fingerprint that links it to fossil fuels, suggesting that today’s high concentrations are caused by our own actions.
Levels of other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, have also increased significantly since pre-industrial times – again driven by emissions from burning fossil fuel, as well as from forest clearance and agriculture.
More than 30 billion tonnes of CO2 are emitted globally each year by burning fossil fuels.
Already the Earth’s surface temperature has warmed by around 0.75°C since 1900 and by around 0.4°C since the 1970s alone.
And this isn’t an immediately reversible trend, even if all greenhouse gas emissions were to stop, the world is still expected to warm by around 0.6 (+/- 0.3)°C.
But if no action is taken to reduce emissions, temperatures are forecast to rise even further.
According to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), depending on the future levels of greenhouse gas emissions, increases in global average temperatures may be between 1.1 and 6.4°C compared with 1990 levels by the end of this century.
In addition to the rising temperatures DECC lists the other potential impacts as:
- Rising sea levels – average sea levels could rise by between 18cm and 59cm by the end of the century.
- Extreme weather – Heat waves and heavy rain could become more common, while droughts could become more intense.
- Ocean acidification – rising CO2 levels lead to a more acidic ocean system endangering species
- Food and water – excessive temperature rises could impact yields of all major cereal crops.
The costs of climate change could be equally as huge as the forecast natural impact.
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change published by the UK government in 2006 said that
“Without action, the overall costs of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global gross domestic product (GDP) each year, now and forever. Including a wider range of risks and impacts could increase this to 20% of GDP or more.”
It has been estimated that reducing emissions to avoid the worst of this would cost around only 1% of global GDP each year.
Even the non-environmental economic implications are therefore compelling on both a macro and micro level.
In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol was adopted to fight global warming. It is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving the “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.”
By September 2011, 191 nations had signed up to the Kyoto Protocol.
In the UK in 2008, in response to the Kyoto Protocol, the Climate Change Act was passed.
Its primary aim was to ensure that the net UK carbon account for all greenhouse gases for the year 2050 would be at least 80% lower than the 1990 level.
Another goal of the Act was to enable the UK to become a low-carbon economy. The Act empowered ministers to introduce measures to achieve a range of greenhouse gas reduction targets.
More recently, the Carbon Plan, which was published in December 2011, set out plans for achieving the emissions reductions committed to in the country’s first four carbon budgets.
A key part of the UK legislation was the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which came into force on 1 April 2010.
The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme applies to businesses that use more than 6,000MWh (6,000,000 kWh) of electricity a year, and have at least one half-hourly electricity meter.
It is a mandatory scheme that aims to promote energy efficiency and cut emissions among large public and private sector organisations. It is estimated that such businesses are responsible for around 10% of the UK’s emissions.
The CRC includes a range of reputational, behavioural and financial drivers to encourage organisations to put in place energy management strategies and help them to better understand their energy usage.
While the main aim of the initiative is to reduce the carbon emissions by at least four million tonnes a year by 2020, the additional benefits include:
- Costs – using the scheme as a cue to reduce carbon emissions and become more energy-efficient will also enable savings on business electricity. This could be enough to offset any cost of carbon allowance needed by individual businesses, giving them a financial advantage over less efficient competitors.
- Reputation a company performing well in the league table would benefit from positive publicity, which could ultimately help attract a whole new set of eco-conscious customers
Being a CRC participant involves:
- measuring and reporting on your annual carbon emissions
- buying an allowance from the government to cover your carbon emissions
- appearing in a carbon emission performance league table against your peers
The subject businesses are obliged to buy an allowance to cover their emissions – currently this is set at £12 per tonne of CO2.
The CRC is however only one way the UK is aiming to deliver its emissions targets.
Another approach is carbon offsetting. A way to cut a business’s carbon footprint immediately and meet the increasing expectation to do so from stakeholders and customers.
With carbon offsetting, businesses effectively negate the effect of their carbon emissions by buying credits for an equivalent reduction in carbon elsewhere.
So for example, they could buy carbon offsets from a wind farm that has been rewarded with them for producing clean energy.
Carbon offsetting has come in for criticism however with detractors arguing that it’s no substitute for reducing actual carbon emissions.
On its own, carbon offsetting does not solve climate change, but it does have a part to play.
It isn’t only formal schemes and rules that can drive emission reductions.
There are many changes companies can make to their processes, behaviours and buildings in order to reduce their CO2 emissions but there will always be a limit to what they can change when such moves are either not economically viable or where the subject is an essential, immovable element of their business.
Regardless, these ‘Internal’ reductions take time to kick in (changing a business’s fleet of vehicles to eco-versions, for example), and even targets of 20% reductions can be difficult to achieve for some businesses.
However behaviour change is the key to reduction, and not only does it bring benefit to the environment, albeit on a small basis individually, but it also provides businesses, large or small with the opportunity to reduce the costs, as well as the impact, of their energy usage.
From the smallest business to the entire planet, carbon has a resonance like few others in the modern world.
Find out more
If you’d like to know more about how your business can benefit from the schemes and tariffs on offer call us on 0800 051 5770, we’d love to hear from you.


The weather in the Aude is quite nice from May through October, and usually quite hot during the summer months of July and August. It’s best to plan outdoor activities early in the day, then a small lunch, a relaying afternoon and a nice dinner in the evening when it cools off a little.
It is quite temperate in the early summer (May-June) and late summer (September, October), making it great for outdoor activities like biking, hiking and running.
It can be quite windy, with the wind mostly coming from the east or west.
As the wind can be quite strong (mostly from the east or west), it’s a good idea to check the wind forecast on Windfinder before deciding where to go.
There are also two useful METAR sites providing current weather conditions in the area:


*These tide times are estimates based on the nearest port (Sheerness, England) and may differ by up to half and hour depending on distance.
Rain clearing early Sunday, leaving a bright but breezy day. Updated at: 0313 on Thu Rather cloudy across England and Wales with the odd spot of rain possible, but some bright spells too.
Clear and sunny to start in Northern Ireland and Scotland, but some heavy, blustery showers in the late afternoon.
Showers easing in Northern Ireland this evening, but continuing through Scotland and starting to affect northern England.
Otherwise it will be a mostly clear but cold night across the UK.
Bands of rain are likely to cross the country with stronger winds at times, these intermixed with some drier episodes.
Northwestern parts should see the wettest weather and stronger winds, with southeastern parts favoured for the best of the drier weather.
That said, there is a chance that quieter periods of weather may develop across much the UK at times.
Temperatures probably averaging out near normal, though during any colder spells overnight frosts becoming increasingly likely, mainly in the north.
After a bright start in Northern Ireland and Scotland it will turn wet and windy with gales possible, and some heavy rain at times. Saturday wet and windy in the north-west, sunny and breezy elsewhere with rain later.
Sunday windy with sunshine, and heavy showers in the north. Updated at: 0411 on Thu Monday will see sunshine and showers, heavy and thundery in places.
Wet and windy weather is likely to spread into western parts later, moving east through Tuesday, with sunshine and showers following.


Sustainability Consult Organises Successful Copernicus Climate Change Service Workshop
- Friday, 19 June 2015
On behalf of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Sustainability Consult organised a workshop for the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) in Brussels on 16-17 June 2015.
C3S is the European Union's flagship programme on monitoring the Earth's environment using satellite and in-situ observations. The main users of Copernicus services are policymakers who need information to develop environmental legislation.
The first day of the workshop saw speakers from diverse fields present on the opportunities and challenges of communicating on climate change. Topics discussed included how to communicate uncertainty, which visuals and channels are best for communicating climate change and whether to frame climate change positively or negatively.
On Day Two, a roundtable discussion on the cost of climate change was followed by group discussions, as participants devised climate change communications campaigns for different audiences such as industry, policymakers, youth and media.
Throughout the workshop, participants were encouraged to outline what tools were missing for effectively communicating on climate change. This will help Copernicus produce a consistent, comprehensive and credible description of the past, current and future climate, providing its users with reliable and up-to-date information.


For many years now, human-caused climate change has been viewed as a large and urgent problem. In truth, however, the biggest part of the problem is neither environmental nor scientific, but a self-created political fiasco. Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero).As Ace comments:
Yes, you did read that right. And also, yes, this eight-year period of temperature stasis did coincide with society's continued power station and SUV-inspired pumping of yet more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In response to these facts, a global warming devotee will chuckle and say "how silly to judge climate change over such a short period". Yet in the next breath, the same person will assure you that the 28-year-long period of warming which occurred between 1970 and 1998 constitutes a dangerous (and man-made) warming. Tosh. Our devotee will also pass by the curious additional facts that a period of similar warming occurred between 1918 and 1940, well prior to the greatest phase of world industrialisation, and that cooling occurred between 1940 and 1965, at precisely the time that human emissions were increasing at their greatest rate.
It hardly needs pointing out that in the seventies environmental alarmists created a public scare over "global cooling," demanding that we immediately take drastic steps to protect the earth by, essentially, de-industrializing, or else the earth would freeze over.As they say, read the whole thing.
The ink had barely dried on the "scholarly papers" predicting a new ice age before some of the exact same environmental "scientists" began scare-mongering over "global warming" in the late eighties, demanding that we immediately take drastic steps to protect the earth by, essentially, de-industrializing…. This is not science. It is Marxist Rousseauian "natural state of man" utopianism, and a cult of the worship of Earth as "Gaia."


“Climate TRACE is a global non-profit coalition created to make meaningful climate action faster and easier by independently tracking greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with unprecedented detail and speed. We harness satellite imagery and other forms of remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and collective data science expertise to track human-caused GHG emissions with unprecedented detail and speed. Climate TRACE’s emissions inventory is the world’s first comprehensive accounting of GHG emissions based primarily on direct, independent observation. Our innovative, open, and accessible approach relies on advances in technology to fill critical knowledge gaps for all decision makers that rely on the patchwork system of self-reporting that serves as the basis for most existing emissions inventories.
Climate TRACE emissions data is free and publicly available for download below. Each download package includes annual country-level emissions by sector and by greenhouse gas from 2015-2021, the applicable inventory of facility-level emissions, and facility-level ownership data where available.”


Ten days of snow, rain wind and flooding in July has caused $31 million damage to people’s homes, contents, businesses, boats and motor vehicles the Insurance Council of New Zealand reported today. The 12-14 July nationwide snow, rain and wind cost insurers $10.3 million followed closely by nationwide flooding between 20 and 22 July costing $20.9 million. “With three months left in play, 2017 is already the most expensive year for weather events since our records began. The two July weather events bring the total for significant weather events for 2017 to $230.2 million which now surpasses the year of the Wahine storm in 1968” said Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton. Provisional data released today has nearly 3,600 house and contents claims costing over $16 million, 843 commercial claims at nearly $11 million and 426 motor vehicle claims costing $2.7 million.
|Provisional||Snow, Rain and Wind Nationwide12-14 July||Flooding Nationwide 20-22 July||Total for both July events|
|# claims||$m paid||# claims||$m paid||# claims||$m paid|
|House and Contents||1,388||3.85||2,208||12.26||3,596||16.1|


Commuters were not happy during the recent downpour of rain in Sydney which resulted to suspension of Light Rail’s regular operation. Companies that are planning to conduct team building in Sydney can now rest easy as things are looking up. The city has not experienced this heavy rain for the past three months until the morning of June 17. The heavy rain caused flooding which is why Light Rail from Central going to The Star was closed down for a few hours.
During that time, the buses accommodated passengers who are willing to commute. After a few hours, the system went back to normal despite the presence of flood in major roads.
The heavy rain is a result of the low pressure which can be found in the central coast of New South Wales. This brought rain showers all over the Sydney Basin. The cold, icy weather was also very unpredictable. The rain was heavier in the eastern parts of Sydney’s suburbs as well as the central prior to lunch break.
According to the rain gauge of Sydney’s Observatory Hill, the downpour from 9 in the morning until 1 in the afternoon is measured at 24 mm. For about 20 minutes during this time range, the rain was only at 14 mm. For the last three months, this is the highest that was recorded for daily rain in the city.
Within the four-hour downpour, it was also noted that the rain in Manly measures 42 mm while the rain in Mosman measured 36 mm.
For the following day, temperatures around Sydney were expected to reach as high as 18 degrees but mercury reading only showed 16 degrees. It was windy though at 24 kph in southern parts of the city such as Cronulla which gives the resident a feel of the cold, chilly weather.
While the weather might look gloomy, company team building in Sydney are expected to resume the following week as it is expected that the weather will be drier. For those companies pushing through with their original dates, indoor venues are recommended coupled with indoor activities.


By Vadim Sablo
|Cloud seeding is the amazing technology and process by which additional rain is artificially produced from a cloud. For those parts of the world where rain and water is less reliable and more valuable, this technology can potentially bring great benefit to environmental, agricultural, tourism and sustainable energy industries. |
Although Cloud seeding has huge potential benefits, this new technology is yet to reach its full potential. We investigate, along with two experts who have agreed to share their opinions with Ask The Experts.
TSR- Clouds contain water droplets and often a few ice crystals. Cloud seeding technology is based on the assumption that due to deficiency of sufficient nuclei, the clouds part with only 10% of their water content as rainfall or snowfall while the remaining moisture gets wasted away. In this case we inject chemicals to squeeze more precipitation from such clouds in which minute cloud droplets are converted into large raindrops or snowflakes, which fall on earth due to gravity.
Clouds whose tops do not reach freezing temperatures in the sky are known as "Warm clouds'"and those that extend into freezing levels upto about 13 km.into the sky are "Cold clouds"Warm clouds are seeded with hygroscopic chemicals like sodium or calcium chloride Etc.,while cold clouds are seeded with 'ice particles' or "Silver iodide particles"Etc., 3]Cloud seeding is done to definitely reduce the impacts of Climate Change as can be seen by the latest scientific article under the web site:http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/22/stories/2010072265102200.htm
SS- Classic "glaciogenic" cloud seeding is the process of introducing ice nuclei (silver iodide) into clouds composed of super cooled liquid water droplets. These droplets will then rapidly freeze into crystals and the ice will grow quickly into precipitation.
VS- What are the main benefits of cloud seeding?
TSR- Enlightened scientists, bureaucrats, industrialists and statesmen in about 50 countries have been using cloud seeding operations for over 40 years for various purposes like:
1. Increase of annual rainfall for drinking and agricultural purposes
2. Dispersal of fog in airports and metropolitan city roads
3. Increase of hydropower generation at the cheapest cost
4. Suppression of hail storms to reduce damage to life, crops and properties
5. Mitigation of devastating impacts of recurring droughts
6. Mitigation of damaging impacts of global warming and summer temperatures
7. Increase of annual rainfall for improving the forests, wildlife and the environment
VS- Will we be able to reduce pollution and control climate change with this technology?
SS- No. The process of enhancing rainfall on a small regional scale is vastly different than influencing climate change - a global phenomenon. Similarly, there's no real hope of using this approach to change local air pollution. We aren't sure why cloud seeding appears to be working so well in Tasmania, when it has failed to produce clear results in other parts of the world. It may, in part, be because the clouds are so pristine, coming off the Southern Ocean. If so, local air pollution may inhibit this glaciogenic approach.
TSR- Cloud Seeding could be useful in reducing the dust and gaseous pollutants floating in the air. It is done in China to clean the dust-laden air by the snowfall and the rainfall, which also help in cleaning the leaf surfaces plants and external faces of buildings and monuments coated with dusty air. The precipitation caused by cloud seeding adds more water to the annual flows in the rivers and their tributaries and thereby dilutes the concentration of pollutants in the flowing water to enhance their self-purification capacity. Similarly addition of water into ponds and lakes helps in dilution of pollutants and thereby make the waters useful for secondary purposes. Even ground water gets its pollution levels diluted due to augmentation of water resources by cloud seeding. Since additional water promotes tree growth and thereby the atmosphere becomes cooler the impacts of climate change can be slightly reduced.
VS- Where and how is cloud seeding used in the World?
TSR- Cloud seeding is used in about 40 countries in the world. It is used to augment water resources in rivers and lakes and to improve ground water resources. Cloud seeding is done in Snowy Mountains of Australia to augment snowfall to promote tourist trade. Cloud seeding is done in Tasmania to augment hydro-electricity production at cost benefit of 1:30. In China and Russia cloud seeding is done to provide clear skies during festive occasions like the Olympic Games and other annual celebrations.
VS- Is cloud seeding commercially interesting (farming, tourism etc.), or does it represent greater interest for governments?
SS- Here in Australia, it's commercially driven. Hydroelectric companies seek to increase rainfall into their damns and produce more electricity. Given the drought, I would think the government would be more interested, but there was a long history of government support for this in Australia.
TSR- Cloud seeding is commercially useful for agricultural operations, augmentation of Municipal water supplies and hydro-power generation, ground water replenishment and promotion of tourist trade in sky resorts. Cloud seeding is used in some cities in USA for removing fog, which interferes with traffic in the aerodromes, metropolitan city roads. Some countries like USA use cloud seeding for quenching forest fires. In view of the economic importance of additional precipitation many countries are resorting to cloud seeding operations on a large scale.
VS- There are fears of toxicity and possible soil contamination, which may be caused by cloud seeding, is it true? What does the science say?
TSR- Research investigations on the damaging impacts of chemicals used for cloud seeding indicated no perceptible damage to public health and the environment. Since the seeding materials used for the operations are very small in quantity their presence in the precipitation has been detected to be very low in concentration. Concentration of silver is much below its US Public health Standard of 50 micro-grams per litre. In the case of iodine, its presence in the rainwater sample collected at the end of cloud seeding operations is found to be far lower in concentration than that found in the common iodized table salt used by the people.
VS- What about the effectiveness of this technology, some say it is unclear whether it really works.
SS- I respect that argument. Indeed, I suspect it is true for most parts of the world. Tasmania may just be special because of the pristine Southern Ocean. But in Tasmania we've had two positive field experiments and now 45 years of seeding to get some statistically significant results.
TSR- Cloud seeding experiments were being conducted in about 40 to 50 countries for more than 4 to 5 decades. On the average the benefits are estimated at about 20 times the cost incurred for the operations. After reviewing the results of cloud seeding operations for several years the world Meteorological Organization (WMO), American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the Weather Modification Association (WMA) issued statements indicating 5% to 20% additional rainfall from clouds over the continents and 30% from the maritime clouds. It was further stated that the hail suppression experiments caused reduction of 20% to 50% in the costs of damage due to hailstorms.
VS- There are also opinions that cloud seeding can increase rainfall in one territory at the expense of another, is it true?
TSR- This usual question of whether cloud seeding “robs Peter to pay Paul” must be answered with an emphatic “no”. The cloud seeding in one place does not cause any perceptible reduction in rainfall that normally occurs in the neighbouring areas. Out of the total atmospheric moisture continuously flowing over any region the normal condensation removes about 20% of the total moisture to form into clouds. Cloud seeding causes additional precipitation although a cloud normally gives 20% of its moisture as rainfall. Further artificial rain making by cloud seeding causes additional precipitation of 20%. So 100 (0.20 x 0.20 x0.20)=0.8% of the water vapour is removed.
VS- Does this technology have a future, if yes where will it be widely used?
SS: In the present form, it has a limited future. However it's possible that modifications can make cloud seeding more effective and viable in other locations.
VS- What are the major steps to overcome today to make this technology really useful and widely developed?
TSR- Cloud seeding is opposed by some scientists, bureaucrats and politicians due to lack of sufficient level of awareness about the subject. Sometimes scientists may pursue their own interests and development of technology such as cloud seeding suffers. In order to overcome the opposition from such vested interest among scientists, bureaucrats and politicians who live at the expense of public sufferings we have to create large scale awareness among the school, college and the university students, Government Officials and general public on the scientific foundations, technological feasibility, economic viability and social acceptability of cloud seeding operations for promoting public health, environmental resources, National economy and sustainable development.
SS- One of the aims should be getting cloud seeding work in more marginal conditions. This may require a lot more insight and a rethink of the basic concepts and approaches.
VS- Prof. T. Shivaji and Prof. Siems, thank you very much for your contributions to this article.
For further details browse through the following websites:
Return to all articles
Extracted from Original Website:
WIND MOVEMENTS AND CLOUDS
Why do most of the clouds move from south to north direction over our subcontinent?
Mulanur, Tamil Nadu
Clouds usually move according to the wind pattern. Wind is caused due to difference in temperatures and pressures which may be affected by various factors. Movement of wind is a very complex phenomenon affected by latitude, proximity of water bodies, sea shore and land undulations. It is also affected by the rotation of the Earth.
Wind blows from points of high pressures to low pressure points. Wind caused due to difference in temperatures is known as convection current. Wind moves from warmer regions near the Earth surface to higher up colder regions. Where the land mass is surrounded by sea water, air near land surface is warmer and moves up. To replace the air mass, wind blows from sea to the land mass. This is also known as breeze. Then there is global movement of wind.
Earth regions near the equator get maximum heat energy from the sun. This causes air to rise up vertically near the equator. To replace, cold wind blows from higher latitude regions. There are also seasonal variations in the direction of wind due to tilt of the Earth, which further makes the phenomenon more complex.
In our subcontinent, the southern regions are surrounded by sea water which causes the wind to move from sea to the land mass i.e. from south to north. The direction changes as the seasons change.
Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh


Most of the time it is sunny here. It is sunny so often that we get pretty excited about rain and what y’all in the rest of the country might call “dreary weather.” We also get some pretty neat weather phenomena due to our altitude and climate. For instance when I went outside for my break-walk I encountered this beautiful sight:
I love when the mountain wears a “hat of clouds.” Hopefully the clouds will hold rain, so that we’ll see a lot less of this:
Fire weather is not my favorite and I think that one of the reasons I cheer on the rain so much is that I don’t want to see fires at all.
Winter is pretty interesting too. Even when its sunny it gets pretty cold, but sometimes we get awesome phenomena like this 22° Halo:
And it snows too, even though it melts the next day:


Nothing too big on the horizon, as we enter a pattern of fairly seasonable weather over the next week, and temperatures gradually get warmer. There will be the chance for some wintry precipitation late tonight and into tomorrow, as a small disturbance moves through the area. At most we’ll see a couple of snow showers mixed in with some rain and sleet. The next chance of some snow comes early next week, as a weak coastal system brings mostly light to moderate rain to the area, with some snow mixing in as the storm pulls away. Again, nothing big. As we move into December, we see seasonal temperatures for the most part, with a few periods where temperatures are both above and below average. When is our first chance at some accumulating snow? Doesn’t look likely until mid-december. Too far out to say what we see for sure. Keep it here!


New Zealand has formally ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change
The Minister for Climate Change Paula Bennett (external link) announced New Zealand's ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change on 5 October 2016.
A primary goal of the agreement is to keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees C above preindustrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C.
Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gerard van Bohemen deposited the Instrument of Ratification with the United Nations in New York.
Ratification is the formal step that countries must take to be full participants and to ensure the deal takes effect.
The early timing of New Zealand's ratification enables us to join the group of countries that make up 55 per cent of global emissions - the minimum needed to get the Paris Agreement across the line.
It also guarantees New Zealand a seat at the decision-making table when the Conference of Parties to the Paris Agreement convenes – which is expected to happen at the next United Nations climate change meeting in Marrakech in November.
Under the agreement, each nation is required to set an emissions reduction target. New Zealand committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.


CO2 Revert Recovery System for Dry Ice Machines is used extensively in industries to recover the CO2 gas which is normally directed to the atmosphere. This recovery system is used to recover the revert CO2 gas generated from dry ice pellet and block machines.
Normally, when dry ice is produced, there is only approx. 40-45 % of conversion rate from liquid CO2 to dry ice. Hence, 55-60 % is lost and cannot be recovered. To overcome this problem, we developed a special CO2 recover system with which most of the CO2 can be recovered (approx. 90-95 %), resulting in 50% reduction in dry ice production costs.


BP: Emissions growth rate will decline, but level of carbon emissions continues to grow
Spencer Dale, Group Chief Economist, BP
LONDON – The growth rate of carbon emissions more than halves during 2014-2035 relative to the previous 20 years, driven by faster efficiency gains and the changing fuel mix: 0.9% per annum, compared with 2.9%.
Given that the world economy is projected to grow only slightly slower than the historical trend, this represents a significant degree of “decoupling” of carbon emissions from economic growth, according to BP.
This decoupling reflects significant increases that are expected in the decline of energy intensity (the volume of energy used per unit of wealth creation) and carbon intensity (carbon emissions per unit of energy consumption).
However, despite the slowdown in emissions growth, the level of carbon emissions continues to grow, increasing by 20% between 2014 and 2035.
The world is embarking on a transition to a lower-carbon energy system. The pledges made by participating countries in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) ahead of the COP21 meeting in Paris, and the level of agreement reached in Paris, have increased our confidence that the world will achieve this break from past trends.
The widening gap between the projected path for emissions and, for example, the IEA’s 450 Scenario, illustrates the remaining challenge, despite the expected reduction in the growth of carbon emissions. The 450 Scenario adopts a specified outcome – the international goal to limit the rise in the long-term average global temperature to two degrees Celsius (2 °C) – and illustrates how it might be achieved. 1 of 3
Dale Spencer, BP Group Chief Economist presented the company's annual energy outlook.


9 May 2015
I like it when a plan comes together. I’ve been watching (now) tropical storm Ana since we were in Myrtle Beach on 1 May. It had started out as a tropical depression and took it’s time forming.
Got a good briefing by Hank at Southport two days later. The depression was still taking it’s time to pull together, nearest estimate was landfall about 6 May.
We got to River Dunes on the 6th, it was a depression on the 6th, and made Tropical Storm status on the 7th. Most of the Loopers we were with were thinking to wait out the storm there. Mine was to continue to head north.
The storm was on a very slow NW/NNW path at between 3-5 miles per hour. It was out to sea about 230 miles, so landfall would be the morning of the 10th (2AM to 8AM was the spread). It looked like it would land about the SC/NC boarder and then turn north. The farther inland and north it goes, the more it dissipates the storm intensity. Being north would be good, less storm to deal with.
I decided on the 8th that we would move north. There were rain bands in the area and I almost didn’t go because it was raining. It cleared off and we were gone by 7:30AM.
We traveled to Belhaven the first day and Columbia the second day. We are at dock looking at at a blue partly cloudy skies.
I just got done reading the 2PM forecast on 9 May. Center of the storm will hit the SC/NC boarder about 8AM on Sunday. So that is close to my 48 hours to landfall guess. We are presently 250 miles NNE of the estimated landfall point. The storm at 2PM was 85 miles SSE of Myrtle Beach, or about 300 miles due south of us.
We will leave Columbia about 7AM and travel to Elizabeth City, we should be there about 10AM. To the south Ana will have turned north and be heading about 10 MPH towards me. Winds only extend out about 150 miles from the storm center, so I’m still looking at 10-15 knot winds for the trip
Ana will arrive in River Dunes will be about 8PM on Sunday. There will be heavy rains an the winds will be 60 MPH.
Arrival time in Elizabeth is about 8AM on Monday (well after I’m in port on Sunday).
Winds by then should reach tropical depression status, about 35 MPH, but we will still get lots of rain. I’m good with rain, it’s the high winds that bother me, no matter where you are, the winds still move the boat around.
By Tuesday morning the tropical depression will be off NYC, and the rain should have cleared, that will let us have a great trip through the Dismal Swamp.
One thought on “Tropical Storm Ana”
Glad you guys aren’t going to take the brunt of it…I can’t imagine 60mph winds slamming you up against the dock would be fun.
Comments are closed.


If climate change continues unchecked, the risks from heat, drought and heavy rainfall throughout Germany will increase sharply in the future. This is shown by the results of the Federal Climate Impact and Risk Assessment (KWRA), which was presented by the Federal Environment Ministry and the Federal Environment Agency.
The Climate Impact and Risk Assessment 2021 for Germany examined over 100 climate change impacts and their interactions, and around 30 of them were found to require very urgent action. These include deadly heat stress, especially in cities, water shortages in the soil and more frequent low water, with serious consequences for all ecosystems, agriculture, forestry and the goods transport sector. The economic damage caused by heavy rainfall , flash floods and flooding to structures was also studied, as well as the species change caused by the gradual rise in temperature, including the spread of disease vectors and pests.
Only a few regions in Germany have so far been very intensively affected by heat, drought or heavy rainfall. In the event of strong climate change, many more regions would be confronted with these effects by the middle of the century. The greatest changes to the climate relative to today would occur in the west and south of Germany. Climate extremes would occur most frequently in the southwest and east. Rivers and river valleys could be affected by the consequences of water-specific risks such as low water and floods. On the coast, hazards from sea-level rise would increase significantly in the second half of the century. If climate change is strong, all of Germany would become a hotspot for climate change risks by the end of the century.
The report shows the risks associated with various different climate scenarios in the middle and end of the century. For the first time, it analysed how the risks in individual sectors are linked and interact with each other. Adaptation options were also analysed for the highest climate risks and assessed in terms of how much they can reduce future climate risk.
The study was commissioned by the Federal Government and prepared by a research consortium involving experts from 25 federal authorities and institutions from nine government departments in the "Climate Change and Adaptation" network of authorities. The results of the study are an essential basis for the further development of the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS).


Please note: This summary is provided to help you understand the regulations. Consult the references provided for links to the full text of the regulations.
Engine Emissions (Aircraft)
This section provides information about engine emission standards for aircraft.
Related topics: Clean Air Act
Who is covered by the regulations?
EPA nitrogen oxides (Nox) emission standards apply to aircraft gas turbine engines with rated thrusts greater than 26.7 kilonewtons. These engines are used primarily on commercial passenger and freight aircraft.
What is the purpose of the regulations?
The regulations discussed on this page contain standards that limit emissions of nitrogen oxides (Nox), a term which represents a family of seven compounds. Actually, EPA regulates only nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as a surrogate for this family of compounds because it is the most prevalent form of Nox in the atmosphere that is generated by human activities. Nox gases form when fuel is burned at high temperatures. They are emitted by aircraft, automobiles, trucks, boats as well as industrial sources such as power plants and industrial boilers. In high concentrations, Nox appears as a brownish gas. It is a strong oxidizing agent and plays a major role in the atmospheric reactions with volatile organic compounds (VOC) that produce ozone (smog) on sunny summer days. Nox compounds also combine with water to produce acid rain. For more information, see EPA's technical bulletin Nitrogen Oxides - Why and How they are Controlled.
The Clean Air Act (CAA) directs EPA to develop aircraft engine emission standards, when in their judgment aircraft emissions cause or contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare. When developing aircraft emission standards, EPA is required by the CAA to consult with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and prohibits EPA from changing aircraft emission standards if such a change would significantly increase noise and adversely affect safety.
EPA began regulating the emissions from aircraft engines in 1973. Since that time, they have worked with the FAA and later with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop international standards and other recommended practices pertaining to aircraft engine emissions. ICAO was established in 1944 by the United Nations in order that international civil aviation may be developed in a safe and orderly manner. ICAO’s responsibilities include developing aircraft technical and operating standards, recommending practices, and generally fostering the growth of international civil aviation. The United States is currently one of 190 participating member States of ICAO.
The most recent emission regulations published by EPA (final rule) contain standards and related provisions for Nox control that were previously adopted by ICAO. This includes two new tiers of more stringent emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (Nox):
Tier 6 (or CAEP/6) standards, and
Tier 8 (or CAEP/8) standards.
The standards will apply differently depending on the date the engine model received its original type certificate as follows.
Engine models that were originally certificated prior to the effective date of the rule may continue production without meeting the Tier 6 standards through December 31, 2012. After that date, these engines must comply with the new Tier 6 standards.
Engine models that were originally certificated between the effective date of the rule and December 31, 2013 must comply with the Tier 6 standards.
Engine models that were originally certificated beginning on or after January 1, 2014 must comply with the Tier 8 standards.
With the 2012 rule, EPA also adopting several changes that would affect all aircraft gas turbine engines that are subject to current emission requirements:
Clarified when a design variation of a previously certified engine model causes the emission characteristics of the new version to become different enough from its parent engine that it must conform to the most current emissions standards.
Amended the emission measurement procedures. These revisions are primarily intended to reflect current certification practices.
Required all gas turbine and turboprop engine manufacturers that are subject to exhaust emission standards to report to EPA, emission data and other information necessary for the purpose of conducting emission analyses and developing appropriate public policy for the aviation sector.
To learn more about previous and possible future aircraft air emissions standards see: EPA Transportation and Air Quality - Aircraft.
EPA Transportation and Air Quality - Aircraft. This page provides information about air pollutant emissions from aviation. It includes regulations, guidance, and other information related to aircraft.
Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Emissions and Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS). A useful tool for aviation emission inventory analysis.
Aircraft Contrails Fact Sheet


One study estimates that air pollution, especially low levels of PM2.5 fine particle concentration, could cause more than 1.5 million deaths each year.
- PM2.5 fine particles are airborne particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers.
- These are accused of causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer in particular.
- PM2.5 emissions can come from different sources: wood heating, construction sites, agriculture, road traffic, etc.
According the world health organization (WHO), 4.2 million people died prematurely worldwide in 2016 due to air pollution in cities and rural areas. But, according to a study published in the journal Science Advancesthis figure could be much higher because the researchers found that the risk of mortality increased even at very low levels of concentration of PM2.5 fine particles outside.
Pollution: 1.5 million deaths linked to PM2.5 fine particles
“We found that outdoor PM2.5 could be responsible for an additional 1.5 million deaths worldwide each year because it has effects at very low levels of concentrations, which had not been shown before.” explains Scott Weichenthal, one of the authors of the study, in a communicated.
In 2021, WHO has issued new guidelines. Now the recommended benchmarks – compared to those in the 2005 air quality guidelines – have been halved. Indeed, experts advise aiming for average annual concentrations of PM2.5 not exceeding 5 micrograms (µg) per m3 instead of 10 µg/m3 previously. The authors of this study have therefore just proved that these recommendations are more in line with the real impacts of outdoor air pollution than the previous ones.
To reach this conclusion, they studied the health data of seven million Canadians, over a period of 25 years. This country was chosen by the researchers because it has very low outdoor PM2.5 concentration levels and is therefore a very good place to study the health impacts of low PM2.5 concentrations.
Public health: PM2.5 fine particle concentrations must be reduced
“One takeaway is that the global health benefits of adhering to the new WHO guideline are likely far greater than previously thought.assures Scott Weichenthal. The next steps are to stop focusing only on particle mass and start looking more closely at particle composition, as some are likely more harmful than others. If we can better understand this, it would allow us to be much more effective in designing regulatory texts to improve the health of the population.”.
Last September, another study estimated that, each year, there were 250,000 deaths from lung cancer worldwide due to air pollution linked to fine particles PM2.5. In this work, the researchers estimated that exposure to pollutants multiplied the carcinogenic risk. “Our actions against climate change, which involve reducing pollution, are closely linked to our health”, indicated Professor Charles Swanton, main author of this study.


finally, some winter weather in new hampshire
It has been a blustery, cold, icy, snowy, gray last few days. We finally got more than a dusting of snow here in southern New Hampshire. Granted, we only got a few inches of snow, but it is rare and strange for it be mid-January and for there to be so little accumulation on the ground. Our last snow of note was in October, when we had that crazy storm that dropped 10″ right before Halloween and caused massive power outages and tons of downed trees and limbs. Since then, the weather has been uncharacteristically mild.
This entry was posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 11:02 pm and is filed under The Daily Balance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
One Response to “finally, some winter weather in new hampshire”| |
Leave a Reply


Air Pollution /Smog
The Unites States is one of the worlds leading producers of air pollution. Americans constitute less than 5% of the world’s population, and yet produce about 25% of the world’s CO2.
Motor vehicle emissions are one of the principal causes of air pollution. Oil refineries are another principal pollution source. Photochemical smog is a type of air pollution that comes from vehicular emissions created by vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE). These primary pollutants, with sunlight as a catalyst, produce a mixture of hundreds of hazardous chemicals, forming secondary pollutants. Photochemical smog forms the harmful ground level ozone. Ground level ozone negatively affects our health, our forests, our vegetation, and our ecosystem and, is a contributor to global warming.
Photochemical smog is present in major cities but is most common in cities with a large number of ICE motor vehicles and sunny, warm, dry climates. Smog travels with the wind and thus affects sparsely populated areas as well. It worsens when the weather is warmer and sunnier and makes the upper air warm enough to inhibit circulation; it is especially common in geologic basins encircled by hills or mountains.
Air pollution is one of the most serious threats to our national parks. Dirty air darkens the horizon and ruins scenic views; it damages plants, harms wildlife and even affects the health of visitors.
Measures have been taken globally to reduce the creation of photochemical smog. Tight vehicle emission regulations are one such step. The chart below may help you determine if your driving habits are contributing to the production of photochemical smog.
|Emissions and Fuel Cost for a 100-Mile Trip|
|Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(pounds of CO2 equivalent)
|Total Fuel Cost
|Conventional||75 lb CO2||$9.36|
|Hybrid Electric||52 lb CO2||$6.46|
|Plug-in Hybrid Electric||44 lb CO2||$4.84|
|All-Electric||32 lb CO2||$2.40|
Take Action to make change and save what we can for future generations. Below is just a small record of endangered places deteriorating day by day.


Table of Contents
Air pollution is the entry of chemicals, particles or air into the atmosphere, biological substances that cause human discomfort, disease or death, harm others, damage to living animals such as food crops, or the natural environment or created environment. A substance present in the air that is known to be harmful to humans and the environment is called air pollutant or contaminant. What Are The Main Causes of Air Pollution – the answer can be these contaminants.
Air pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid droplets or gases. Again they can be natural or man-made. Contaminants can also be classified as primary or as Secondary. Typically, primary pollutants are produced directly from a process such as ash from a volcanic eruption, carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust, or Sulfur dioxide is emitted from the factory. However, unlike primary pollutants, secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, the primary pollutants react with each other to form secondary pollutants in the air. An example of a secondary contaminant is ground ozone which produces photochemical fumes. Furthermore, some contaminants can be both primary and secondary. That is, they both emit directly or can be formed from the other primary contaminant.
Main causes of air pollution
The main causes of air pollution can be divided into two categories.
- Man-made causes of air pollution
- Natural causes of air pollution
That means, the contaminants in the air can come from both natural and man-made sources. Natural sources include air pollutant dust from fires and volcanic eruptions and volatile biochemicals emitted by some plants. Volcanic eruptions and chemicals released from some natural forest fires can temporarily reach harmful levels where they occur.
Human inputs from outside air pollutants occur mostly in industrial and urban areas where people, cars and factories are concentrated. Most of these pollutants come from burning fossil fuels in power and industrial plants (stationary sources) and motor vehicles (mobile sources).
Man-made causes of air pollution
- Stationary source: These include power plants, different manufacturing factories, many types of reactors, fuel heating machines, various waste incinerators etc. These generate large amounts of smoke, which is one of the main causes of air pollution in developing and poor countries. Burning of wood, plant and animal wastes also cause a lot of air pollution.
- Mobile source: Mobile sources include motor vehicles, ships, aircraft etc. These cause both air pollution and sound pollution. These vehicles emit carbon monoxide (CO) which is a colorless, odorless and toxic gas. Other sources such as incomplete combustion of natural gas, coal or wood also produces CO and cause air pollution.
- Gases emitted from paints, hair sprays, aerosol sprays, varnishes and other such solvents cause air pollution.
- Not having adequate waste disposal systems lead to piles of waste around settlements. These piles of wastes produce methane gas (CH4). CH4 is a toxic and highly flammable gas that can form explosive mixtures with air. Incomplete combustion of CH4 also generates carbon monoxide said earlier.
- Military source: Toxic substances are released during war and gases from military warfare, nuclear weapons, rockets, etc. used in the war or during military training or expedition are released into the air and cause air pollution.
- Using lead (Pb) pipes, lead solder, leaded paint in houses and apartments, lead in computer & TV monitors, candles containing lead cores causes emission of lead into the air and pollute the air.
- Burning of coal and oil causes photochemical reaction in the atmosphere in presence of oxygen and produce industrial smog.
- Burning of wastes such as polythene, paper, plastic causes the production of CO and pollute air.
- Acid rain: Automobile engines, refining of oil, combustion of sulfur containing coal in the electric power cause emission of NOx and Sox which are responsible for acid deposition in the air such as sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3). These acid substances can remain in the air for 2-14 days and descend to the earth’s surface with rain called acid rain.
- Cutting trees also affect the air.
Natural causes of air pollution
- Forest fires are a major natural cause of air pollution.
- Radon gas from radioactive decay in the Earth’s crust is another natural cause of air pollution. This radioactive gas is generated from the decay of radium metal. Ra is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring radioactive gas which is very dangerous for human health. This gas can accumulate in the buildings, especially in confined areas such as basements or undergrounds. It is considered to be the second leading cause of lung cancer.
- On hot days, plants such as black gum, poplar, oak and willow release significant amounts of environmentally significant VOCs in some areas. These VOCs react with primary pollutants such as NOx, SOx to form secondary pollutants which cause air pollution. This is also a natural causes of air pollution.
- Animal digestion (specially domestic animals such as cattle) is another cause of natural air pollution. This produces methane, which is responsible for greenhouse gases.
- Natural volcanic activity produces sulfur, chlorine and ash particulate that cause air pollution.
- Dust from a large area or land without vegetation (for example desert) is another major cause of air pollution.
Major Outdoor Air Pollutants
Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the major outdoor air pollutants. It is a colorless, odorless, and highly toxic gas that forms during the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing materials.
Major source: Major sources are motor vehicle exhaust, burning of forests and grasslands, tobacco smoke, and open fires and inefficient stoves used for cooking.
Health effects: CO reacts with hemoglobin in red blood cells and reduces the ability of blood to transport oxygen to body cells and tissues. Chronic exposure to CO can trigger heart attacks and aggravate lung diseases such as asthma and emphysema. CO can also cause headache, nausea, drowsiness, mental impairment, collapse, coma, and death.
CO2 is also a colorless and odorless gas. About 93% of the CO2 in the atmosphere is the result of the natural carbon cycle and the rest comes from human activities.
Source: Comes mostly from burning fossil fuels and clearing CO2-absorbing forests and grasslands. Industrial revolution is another major source.
Effects: Increasing levels of CO2 from human activities are contributing to global warming and climate change. High levels of CO2 in the air causes respiration problem.
Nitrogen oxides and nitric acid:
Nitric oxide (NO) is a colorless gas that is produced by the reaction of nitrogen and oxygen gas in air at the high-combustion temperatures in automobile engines and coal-burning plants. NO is also generated from the Nitrogen cycle by the combination of lightning and certain soil bacteria. NO reacts with oxygen in the air to form nitrogen dioxide (NO2) which is a reddish-brown gas. NO and NO2 are collectively called nitrogen oxides (NOx). Some of the NO2 reacts with water vapor (H2O) in the air to form nitric acid (HNO3) and nitrate salts (NO3). These gases play a role in the formation of photochemical smog, greenhouse gas.
Effects: Nitrogen oxides will irritate the eyes, nose, and throat; irritate respiratory organ ailments like respiratory illness and bronchitis; and increase status to metabolism infections by impairing the system. they’ll conjointly suppress plant growth and cut back visibility once they are converted to acid and nitrate salts.
Sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid:
Like CO2 and NO, Sulfur dioxide (SO2) could be a colorless gas with an irritating odor. Concerning third of the SO2 within the atmosphere comes from natural sources as a part of the sulfur cycle. The rest simple fraction comes from human sources, principally combustion of sulfur-containing coal in power and industrial plants and oil refinement and smelting of compound ores. within the atmosphere, SO2 is converted to aerosols, that are microscopic suspended droplets of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and suspended particles of salt (SO42-) that come back to the earth as an element of acid deposition.
Effects: pollutant, acid droplets, and salt particles decrease visibility and irritate respiration issues. SO2 and H2SO4 will injure crops, trees, soils, and aquatic life in lakes. They additionally corrode metals and damage paint, paper, leather, and stone on buildings and statues.
Suspended particulate matter (SPM) consists of a spread of solid particles and liquid droplets small and light enough to stay suspended within the air for long periods. Almost sixty two percent (62%) of the SPM in outside air comes from natural sources like mud, wild fires, and ocean salt. The remaining thirty eighth comes from human sources like coal-burning power and industrial plants, motorized vehicles, plowed fields, building, unpaved roads, and tobacco smoke. The most harmful types of SPM are fine particles (PM-10, with a median diameter of less than 10 micrometers) and ultrafine particles (PM-2.5, with a median diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers).
Effects: These particles will irritate the nose and throat, harm the lungs, irritate bronchial asthma and respiratory disorder, and shorten life. poisonous particulates, like lead, cadmium, and polychlorinated biphenyls will cause mutations, fruitful issues, and cancer. Particulates additionally reduce visibility, corrode metals, and discolor garments and paints.
O3 is a colorless and extremely reactive gas that could be a major part of photochemical smog.
Effects: It will cause coughing and respiration problems, worsen respiratory organ and heart diseases, reduce resistance to colds and respiratory illness (pneumonia), and irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. It conjointly damages plants, rubber in tires, fabrics, and paints.
Ozone within the layer close to ground level is commonly observed as “bad” ozone, whereas the ozone in the stratosphere layer is considered as “good” ozone that protects us from harmful ultraviolet light radiation. However, human activities are reducing the amount of good ozone within the layer and increasing the number of harmful unhealthy gas (bad ozone) within the layer close to ground level—especially in some urban areas.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs):
Organic compounds that exist as gases within the atmosphere are referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Most are hydrocarbons, like isoprene (C3H8) and terpenes like C10H15 emitted by the leaves of many plants, and alkane series methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas. Almost a third of the world’s CH4 emissions come from natural sources, largely plants, wetlands, and termites. The remainder comes from human sources, primarily rice paddies, landfills, oil and fossil fuel wells, and cows (mostly from their belching). Benzene (C6H6) is found in automobile and power plant emissions and tobacco smoke.
Effects: long-run exposure to benzene will cause leukemia, varied blood disorders, and immune system injury. Short exposure to high levels will cause dizziness, state of mind, and death.
Formation of Major Outdoor Air Pollutants:
|Carbon monoxide (CO)||2C + O2 = 2CO|
|Carbon dioxide (CO2)||C + O2 = CO2|
|Nitric oxide (NO)||N2 + O2 = 2NO|
|Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)||2NO + O2 = 2NO2|
|Sulfur dioxide (SO2)||S + O2 = SO2|
Major indoor air pollutants
|Chloroform||Chlorine treated water in hot showers||Cause cancer|
|1,1,1-Trichloroethane||Aerosol sprays||Dizziness, irregular breathing|
|Nitrogen oxides||Kitchen gas stoves and kerosene heaters, woodstoves||Irritated lungs, children’s colds, headaches|
|Particulates||Pollen, pet dander, dust mites, cooking smoke particles||Irritated lungs, asthma attacks, itchy eyes, runny nose, lung disease|
|Asbestos||Insulation of pipes, vinyl ceiling and floor tiles||Lung disease, lung cancer|
|Carbon monoxide||Faulty furnaces, unvented gas stoves and kerosene heaters, woodstoves||Headaches, drowsiness, irregular heartbeat, death|
|Methylene chloride||Paint strippers and thinners||Nerve disorders, diabetes|
|Tobacco smoke||Cigarettes||Lung cancer, respiratory ailments, heart disease|
|Radon-222||Radioactive soil and rock surrounding foundation, water supply||Lung cancer|
|Benzo-α-pyrene||Tobacco smoke, woodstoves||Lung cancer|
|Styrene||Carpets and plastic products||Kidney and liver damage|
|Formaldehyde||Stuffing of furniture, paneling, particleboard, foam insulation||Irritation of eyes, throat, skin, and lungs; nausea; dizziness|
|Tetrachloroethylene||Dry cleaning fluid fumes of clothes||Nerve disorders, damage to liver and kidneys, possible cancer|
|Para-dichlorobenzene||Air fresheners, mothball crystals||Cancer|
With their high concentrations of cars and factories, urban areas usually have higher outside pollution levels than rural areas have. However prevailing winds will unfold long-lived primary and secondary air pollutants from urban and industrial areas to the countryside and to different urban areas.
Air pollution was once a regional issue restricted largely to cities. Currently it’s a global problem, for the most part because of the sheer volume of pollutants produced. Pollutants getting into the atmosphere in Asian country such as India and China currently notice their method across the Pacific where they have an effect on the West Coast of North America. There’s no place on the earth that has not been suffering from air pollution.


You want to learn some weather vocabulary and here is a simple way to learn about the weather.
Talking about the weather is a great way to continue a conversation with someone.
For these lessons you will need to know the following vocabulary:
Let's learn how to ask questions and describe the weather.
1) Look at the picture.
2) Listen to the audio.
3) Say the words with the audio.
It's cloudy = It is cloudy. You can see the clouds over the mountains and the sky is not blue.
When you are inside and do not know what the weather is like, you can ask "What's the weather like outside?".
Describing the weather again, you can refer to the temperature. It is cool out or it is cool outside.
In the moment, you can say what is happening. It is raining, right now.
Again, when you are inside and what to know what the weather is like you can ask, "Is it nice outside?", "Is it raining?", "Is it cool out?".
When we describe the weather we talk about what is happening and also the temperature.
It is sunny, mean that there is a lot of sun, no clouds and it is probably hot.
Asking questions about the weather is easy. Just use the structure, "Is it ______?"
When we speak about the weather we always use the verb to be. It is....
Saying and listening to the audio again and again will help you remember the new words and associate them with the pictures.
Return to the beginning of the page and review one more time...
Still looking? Search the site for exactly what you need using the site search box below.


The Sun emitted a strong solar flare on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, peaking at 9:55 am EDT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
This flare is classified as an X-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.
NASA’s SDO sees sun release strong solar flare
Provided by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Citation: Strong solar flare erupts from sun (2022, May 10) retrieved 11 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-strong-solar-flare-erupts-sun-1.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.


Smart Air is a social enterprise that promotes DIY air purifiers as a low-cost solution to indoor particulate air pollution in China. Smart Air provides open-source test data and hosts workshops across Asia to teach people how to make DIY air purifiers. Founded in China, Smart Air also ships low-cost purifiers to people in India, Mongolia and other countries across Asia.
More than nine out of 10 of the world’s population – 92% – live in places where air pollution exceeds safe limits, according to research from the World Health Organization (WHO). The majority of people affected by air pollution come from low- and middle- income countries.
Smart Air’s mission is to provide affordable air purifiers to consumers across China and internationally, giving a greater number of the world’s population access to clean air and a healthier life, without having to pay a premium price.
Online shops: Smart Air is currently offering products like adorable air purifiers
on Taobao (淘宝) and through PayPal.
Regular Salons: Smart Air holds regular salons so spread the message that it doesn’t cost thousands of RMB to get clean air. Smart Air will test purifying effects on the spot and participants can make and take home air purifiers themselves.
School Programs: Smart Air runs a hands-on workshop in elementary and middle schools to help spread knowledge and awareness of air pollution.
How would the world be different because of Smart Air?
A major part of Smart Air’s mission is to educate people on the causes of air pollution, its health effects, and to give people the power to make their own educated decisions on how to best protect themselves. Smart Air is currently providing workshops for schools, businesses, and individuals. These are used to answer common misconceptions on air pollution, and to make complex technical questions such as the “mechanics of air purifiers” and “the cardiovascular and neurological health effects of PM2.5” easier to understand. With Smart Air reaching to more schools and communities across China, it has created a snowball effect of pollution awareness in the country. Smart Air has contributed to helping spread the word on how people can protect their health and improve their quality of life, and also encourage their customers to look into ways to live a carbon-neutral lifestyle (i.e. by driving the car less, or by flying less).


When Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' earned awards and accolades and demonstrated Global Warming as a human-induced phenomenon, not many scientists looked beyond the research papers from 'US Global Change Research Program'. The 2006 documentary was a fodder to Global Warming alarmists, who forgot the fundamental fact that the average temperature has climbed by only 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 Degree Celsius) since global temperatures began to be monitored systematically from 1880.
The research by Andrew Dessler and his team from Texas A&M University has confirmed the previous debated theory that Water Vapor is the most contributing greenhouse gas, doubling the climate warming caused by the increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite became the first device to measure water vapor at all altitudes within the troposphere. Using AIRS, the scientists measured the humidity along the lowest 10 miles of the atmosphere. The level of humidity along with observation about carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases allowed researchers to grasp the interplay of the three major contributors of Global Warming. More than the increase in temperature, the compounding nature of Water Vapor is what worrying scientists around the world. Increase in water vapor leads to a warmer temperature that results in more water vapor emitted into the air.
Although Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary contributor of greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, accounting for 82% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 - renewable energy propagandists conveniently forget that it is the naturally occurring heat emitted from our body that is causing the increase. Perhaps an initiative to control birth rate would halt the supposed increase in Global Temperature.
Q) What assumption does the author make when he states, “renewable energy propagandists conveniently forget that it is the naturally occurring heat emitted from our body that is causing the increase”
a) CO2 is the primary contributor of greenhouse gas
b) The Major contributor of Global Warming is Water Vapour
c) Global Temperature recorded from 1880 is enough to understand Global Warming
d) Renewable Energy Propagandists are responsible for the theory of 'Global Warming'
e) U.S Greenhouse gas emissions is responsible for Global Warming
Q) The primary purpose of the passage is to
a) To demonstrate that global warming is natural
b) To show that CO2 is not the primary contributor of global warming
c) To highlight the development of AIRS and its contribution in studying global warming
d) To question human induced global warming
e) To present the compounding effect of Water Vapor in Global Warming
For Answers to the above questions, Techniques on Questioning the Author and Comprehensive GMAT RC Tips - Download F1GMAT's Essential GMAT Reading Comprehension Guide
Want to Score 700+ on the GMAT? Get a Perfect RC Score First
Almost all GMAT 700+ test takers get a perfect score for the Reading Comprehension section.
You won’t score the perfect score if:
• You overhear what you read in your mind
• You go back to the passages unnecessarily
• You are too distracted to capture the author’s intention
• You keep staring at the timer
• You think beyond the scope of the text
• You overanalyse the author’s argument
We have revealed the real secrets of Mastering Reading Comprehension.


Officials with the National Weather Service issued a Fire Weather Watch for most of the Bay Area ahead of dry and windy weather forecasted in the next few days.
Gusty offshore winds and dry conditions are forecasted starting on Sunday night through Tuesday morning, disproportionately affecting the interior North and East Bay hills and mountains above 1000 feet, weather service officials said.
Although a breezy onshore flow and a chance of rain could descend upon the Bay Area this weekend, a rapid shift to the drier weather on Sunday night is anticipated.
The dry weather combined with gusty offshore winds, along with near record dry fuels in the interior part of the state, will increase the risk for fire weather.
Depending on how much rain the Bay Area receives this weekend, fire officials said the Fire Weather Watch could be upgraded to a Red Flag Warning.


In other words, Is climate change already happening here?
To answer this question, it is necessary to know the evolution of temperatures in Belgium.
The RMI - Royal Meteorological Institute - publishes a monthly report on the observed temperatures. These have been recorded since 1833, which makes it possible to see the changes over several decades.
So, warmer or not? Yes, significantly.
Both winter and summer, daytime and nighttime temperatures are increasing. And the average annual temperature is increasing significantly.
In 40 years, Belgium has warmed from 1.5 ° C to 1.8 ° C
This is what the climatic trends observed in Belgium reveal.
+ 1,5°C in Uccle
+ 1,8°C in Rochefort
+ 1,6°C in Oostende
Is this serious doctor? It depends if you like heatwaves.


Industrial Post-Doctoral Scientists in Climate Data Analytics
We are hiring an Industrial Post-Doctoral Researcher in Climate Data Analytics to develop usable climate data and products. Primary responsibilities will include developing novel approaches and derived products (i.e. summaries, indices or metrics) that help provide users with appropriate, quality-controlled climate and historical weather data. The Post-Doctoral Researcher will also help build and deploy a real-time historical weather data platform that provides high resolution and quality historical observations for the climate data platform. This position will be a mix of applied research and development of software and toolkits for a technical (but not necessarily scientific) audience. This is a public facing project, supporting California’s electricity and natural gas ratepayers -- this position will involve frequent stakeholder engagement and collaboration with project partners at the California Energy Commission, the University of California, and in private industry.
Sr. Atmospheric Scientist / Data Scientist in Climate Data Analytics
We are hiring a Sr. Atmospheric Scientist / Data Scientist to develop a historical and near-real time weather data platform. Primary responsibilities will be building a backend structure that finds, QA/QCs and then delivers historical weather data and observations to a related future climate data platform for California’s energy sector. The Sr. Atmospheric Scientist / Data Scientist will also support the development of novel approaches and metrics that help guide users to actionable and appropriate, quality-controlled climate and historical weather data.
Jr. Atmospheric Scientist / Data Scientist in Climate Data Analytics
We are hiring a Jr. Atmospheric Scientist to support the development of two cloud-based climate and weather data platforms for California’s energy sector. Primary responsibilities for the Jr. Atmospheric Scientist will be to do applied research - manipulating and working with very large geospatial datasets and developing code for the platforms. The project is heavily dependent on Stakeholder engagement, requiring flexibility and adaptability. This is an early career position - we’ll work with you to align work tasks with your career goals.
Positions overview document
Event Planner (Scientific Meetings)
Event planner sought to organize and execute a climate resilience planning workshop to be held in Sacramento in September. Responsibilities range from attendee registration, venue selection, coordinating speaker itineraries, catering, AV/tech setup and all other aspects of the workshop. Remote work, flexible schedule all OK and would consider an independent contractor.
Full job posting TBA
Office Manager / Bookkeeper (Research Project Management)
We're looking to hire an office manager to handle administrative duties, including organization tasks, processing of invoices, compliance reporting and bookeeping. Remote work, flexible schedule all OK and would consider an independent contractor.
Full job posting TBA


It is a little cold and a little slick on the roads Tuesday morning, a deep freeze that South Dakotans better get used to for most of December.
According to Mike Modrick, KOTA Territory News chief meteorologist, the cold front that came in Monday night brought a drastic change to the weather. Temperatures will drop into the teens by Tuesday afternoon and then there is the wind. Wind chills will make it feel like 20 below by Tuesday night.
As for travel Tuesday, the snow is causing some problems. A stretch of Interstate 90 in Wyoming is closed until crews can get it cleared. In South Dakota, the roads are slippery in most places, slowing traffic.


The East Coast reels under a combination of heavy snow and fierce winds as it faces its first major storm since the November midterm elections. The extremely cold weather has left many people stranded on roads or unable to leave their homes, making travel difficult and some schools closed.
The East Coast was hit hard by a combination of heavy snow and fierce winds today. The storm has left many without power, causing the East Coast to reel under a combination of heavy snow and fierce winds.
Along the East Coast, a nor’easter dumped heavy snow and blew strong gusts. Many places were forced to endure near-whiteout conditions, with restricted travel alternatives. Blizzard warnings were issued for millions of people in coastal regions. Heavy precipitation and severe winds were among the warnings. In certain spots, it might reach speeds of up to 70 mph. Driving would be dangerous if vision was poor. Traveling in such conditions might be perilous.
According to CNN, various governments in the Northeast have issued prohibition orders for automobile movement for portions of the day, citing safety concerns.
Many individuals are advising folks not to go outside. Coastal flooding and the likelihood of power outages due to uprooted utility wires must be anticipated on the East Coast. Boston may set a new record for snowfall. It might receive more than 2 feet of snow, breaking the previous record of 23.6 inches set on February 17, 2003. Winter Storm Izzy just slammed the East Coast, knocking out power to at least 130,000 people.
Blizzard warnings have been issued for the East Coast’s coastal districts.
New York and New Jersey governors announced declarations of emergency. From Virginia to New England, about a foot of snow might fall. Millions of people from the Mid-Atlantic to New England were affected by winter weather warnings.
Whiteout conditions, according to the National Weather Service NWS, will make traffic impossible. This is due to the heavy snowfall combined with high winds. Visibility may be reduced to less than a quarter mile. High-speed winds can cause sporadic power disruptions, so people should be prepared. Electricity has become an essential aspect of modern life.
On Eunomia, you may discuss this news.
Electricity powers a plethora of devices, and when power lines go down, the world comes to a halt. Renewable energy can make a major impact in these situations. Climate change is becoming more common, and authorities may need to create plans for an alternative energy source. This had the makings of a “historic significant winter storm for eastern New England,” according to the NWS. CNN advises people to be wary of coastal floods and high seas.
Over 3,500 flights have been cancelled inside, into, or out of the United States. Amtrak had to cancel train service on several lines due to the blizzard-like weather. Frida, a winter storm that hit the East Coast, caused travel mayhem.
Snow has blanketed most of the East Coast.
Several regions on the East Coast, according to KVIA, had record snowfall. As the nor’easter pushed into the country’s northeastern point, officials throughout the area encouraged citizens to stay put. Apart from blizzard warnings, there was a winter weather alert. A blizzard, according to the NWS, is defined as a circumstance in which there is blowing or falling snow with winds of at least 35 miles per hour. For at least three hours, visibility should be a quarter mile or less.
The truth is that individuals must avoid leaving their homes.
Those planning to travel out of the East Coast have been stranded.
Flights inside, into, and out of the United States have been canceled in considerable numbers, according to KVIA. Passengers affected by the hurricane were provided exemptions by major airlines. Delta and United were among the airlines involved. Other airlines, such as American Airlines and Southwest, have also revealed solutions for travelers whose travel plans were canceled due to the extreme weather. Many snowfall records were shattered. The 7.3 inches in New York’s Central Park broke the previous record of 4.7 inches established in 1904. The same may be said about Philadelphia. Its 5.8-inch snowfall on Saturday shattered the previous record of 5 inches, which was established in 1904.
DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED
The “blizzard” is a combination of heavy snow and fierce winds that has hit the East Coast. The storm has been especially hard on New York City, where more than 3 feet of snow has fallen.
- storm in america today 2021
- east coast storm tracker
- east coast storms this week
- east coast weather
- hurricane henri


The southwest monsoon reached South Gujarat with some parts of Valsad and Navsari districts receiving their first monsoon showers on Wednesday.
According to the local weather office, the Southwest monsoon is likely to cover more parts of the state in the coming days.
AIR correspondent reports, local weather office has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall in some parts of South Gujarat and Saurashtra.
Some parts of Saurashtra and South Gujarat have already received pre-monsoon showers.
Weather office has predicted more rains in Gujarat during the next five days.
Daman and Dadara Nagar Haveli have been receiving good rains since this morning.
Meanwhile, the fishermen have been warned not to venture the sea on Gujarat coast till 13th June.
The sea will remain rough with wind velocity is expected to be 40 to 50 kilometer per hour in the coastal areas.


Always sunny with a chance of some
The average temperature in Bluefields is 82F (27.7C), and the temperature variation is only 10 degrees year-round. There are gentle sea breezes and the villas are designed with those in mind. In terms of rainfall, November through April are the driest months of the year. If there is rainfall, it is typically going to be afternoon showers which pass with the sun often returning afterwards.
In the evening the sunsets offer some of the most spectacular colors and shades you will ever see. The night time brings outs out the moon and stars so close you want to reach out and grab them.


Committee on Climate Change , senior analyst
Dr Andrew Russell is Senior Science and Policy Analyst at the Committee on Climate Change. He analyses flooding and coastal change and was the lead author for the Committee's report on Managing the Coast in a Changing Climate. He has previously been a university lecturer, associate editor of a scientific journal and a science communicator. The Committee on Climate Change (the CCC) is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008. Its purpose is to advise the UK Government and Devolved Administrations on emissions targets and report to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate change.


Study at Deepwater Horizon Spill Site Finds Key to Tracking Pollutants.
A new study that analyzed concentrations of African dust transported to South America shows large seasonal peaks in winter and spring.
New Study Confirms Water Vapor as Global Warming Amplifier
UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science professor Elliot Atlas recently returned from the two-month long CONTRAST (Convective Transport of Active Species in the Tropics) field experiment in the western Pacific Ocean.
Reorganization Effective June 1, 2014 The Rosenstiel School has reorganized from divisions to departments.
Masters and Ph.D. degree coursework involves the chemistry of the atmosphere and ocean waters, and processes within and between those systems. A major focus is understanding the impact of human activities on the earth and ocean system as it relates to global change.
Hurricanes impact coastlines worldwide with destructive storm surge, high winds, and flooding rains. Advancing the science of hurricanes is our business. Learn about how we work to further our understanding of extreme weather.


Earth & Atmospheric Science
Lassonde School of Engineering
Want to address major global challenges and solve problems everywhere from Earth to outer space? If you’re curious about the world around you and interested in topics like climate change, satellites and weather forecasting, this is the perfect program to develop your passion. You’ll study the processes driving severe weather and global climate change and learn how to forecast weather. Enhance your degree with a Certificate in Meteorology. Through this program, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills needed to take on a wide variety of important and challenging careers in government and industry.
What You’ll Learn
Atmospheric Science explores meteorology from the turbulent micro scale to the large synoptic scale weather systems. In our program, you will learn how we use computer models to forecast the weather and will develop a deeper understanding of the processes that drive severe weather, climate and climate change. You can top off your degree with a Certificate in Meteorology.
After second year, you can pursue co-op opportunities, gaining professional experience to get a head start towards becoming a licensed Professional Engineer.
Some Courses You'll Take
Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology
Cloud Physics and Radar Meteorology
Numerical Weather Prediction
Climate and Climate Change
Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere
Storms and Weather Systems
Note: Many students combine a degree in Earth & Atmospheric Science with a certificate in Meteorology (the only undergraduate Meteorology program in Ontario).
You May Also Be Interested In:


Sheep emit methane gas when they fart and belch, which is a potent substance that can trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. In fact, over a 20-year timeframe, methane gas is approximately 80 times more effective than carbon dioxide in this regard.
The Hodgkins family is embarking on a challenging journey to develop “ultra-low emission” sheep that produce less methane, a powerful greenhouse gas with over 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide within a 20-year span. The tracking program is the initial step in their mission.
On a sunny spring day at Rob and Jo Hodgkins’ farm in southern England, sheep were being The animals were taken individually and placed inside large metal chambers resembling massive washing machines. All 120 of them were kept inside for 50 minutes each, during which time their emissions were measured.
Sheep, like other hoofed plant-eating mammals such as cattle, goats, and buffalos, release methane while digesting food. Previous research has mainly concentrated on cows, as they emit the highest amount of methane. However, scientists in New Zealand have recently discovered that methane emissions are a heritable trait among sheep, which has motivated the Hodgkinses to investigate further.


(See: 6 really cool lightning pictures)
This is a video I originally seen on my favorite TV show called Attack of the Show. I've witnessed some pretty cool lightning strikes in my time, but nothing that even remotely resembles the one in this video. I'm so glad that these people were filming this thunderstorm. I am fascinated with weather and to see something like this lightning bolt just strikes the spot in my soul. If this was me and I didn't get to video tape this bolt, I would be scarred for life. Enjoy the video, It's awesome!
5 Quick Facts About Lightning
- You can get struck by lightning even when the center of a storm is 10 miles away.
- Using the telephone during a thunderstorm is the leading cause of lightning injuries inside the home.
- The odds of getting struck by lightning is 1 in 700,000 in the U.S. per year.
- Lightning can strike in the same place twice .
- Lightning can raise the temperature of the air by 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit and pack 100 million volts.
Wasn't that fascinating? Anyone want to go for a swim now? Do you think Zeus has something against this dude? Thank god this guy wasn't trying to be a jackass and in the water for a nice leisurely swim!
Be safe out there! Read more about lightning safety here: Nationalgeographic Lightning Facts