How do atmospheric systems cause heavy snowfall, intense cold spells, heatwaves and drought and in what ways do they represent a hazard to people? 

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  • Created by: Jake199
  • Created on: 12-05-14 20:46
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  • How do atmospheric systems cause heavy snowfall, intense cold spells, heatwaves and drought and in what ways do they represent a hazard to people?
    • High Pressure
      • Anti-cyclones
      • Settled weather
      • Extremes of temperature
      • Caused by atmospheric cells
        • Air rises in st the equator and in the mid latitude zones.  This air circulates and falls at different latitudes, creating high pressure belts in the subtropical and polar regions
      • Large mass of subsiding air
      • Hot, sunny, dry, calm weather in the summer
      • Cold, sharp crisp days in winter
      • Frost and fog common i n winter and autumn
      • Winds blow out from center in a clockwise direction
      • Winds usually light
      • 1/4 on average of UK weather
      • Sometimes Blocking Anticyclones sit over Europe
    • Low Pressure
      • Depressions
      • Unsettled weather
      • Fair/mild weather
      • Last on average 2 days in Uk
      • Warm air is undercut at a cold front, and rises creating low pressure
    • The Great Storm, October 1987
      • Economic impact- £2 bn in damage across southern Britain
      • Social impacts
        • 16 killed
        • 1.3 m buildings damaged
        • 1 m without power
      • Environmental impact- 15 m trees uprooted
      • Poor forecasting
      • Wind major problem, with speeds of 115 mph
    • North American snow storm
      • 14th-17th Feb 2014
      • 22 killed
      • 1.2 m homes lost power
      • Low of 968 mbars recorded
      • Max snowfall of 0.7 m
      • $15+ m of physical damage
      • Large economic cost
        • 550000 businesses without power
        • 6500 flights cancelled on 13th
    • The Sahel
      • Lies in the high pressure belt and so experiences wet and dry seasons
      • Suffering from drought since 1980s
      • Human activities such as overcultivation, overgrazing, and collecting firewood have led to dersertification and land degradation
        • Leads to crop failure and famine
      • Plague of locusts in Niger in 2004 destroyed remaining crops
      • 18 m people facing food crisis and more than 1 m children under 5 risk severe malnutrition
      • Short-term aid helps, but development aid is required
        • Farmers need to be educated better

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