New Delhi: As summer approaches, the US temperature rises, and some areas are experiencing a heat dome. This ‘heat dome’ phenomenon occurs when a high-pressure system remains stationary for days or weeks, trapping hot air beneath it like a lid on a pot. The heat dome, first observed in Mexico, has now spread to the southern US. Temperatures in the region have exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit (approx 33 degrees Celsius) in Mexico City on more than half the days in May. This heat dome can also be seen in some regions of Texas. Understanding what a heat dome is and its effects is crucial in today’s changing climate.
What is a Heat Dome?
Extreme heat is caused when the atmosphere traps hot ocean air. A’ heat dome’, if bounded by a lid or a cap, is called a ‘heat dome’. This weather phenomenon occurs when strong high-pressure atmospheric conditions are stationed for an unusual time, preventing convection and precipitation and keeping hot air ‘trapped’ within a region.
What causes Heat Dome?
Changes in ocean temperature are considered one of the leading causes of heat dome, a weather phenomenon that begins when there is a strong chance (or gradient) in ocean temperatures. In the process known as convection, the gradient causes more warm air heated by the ocean surface to rise over the ocean surface.
As climate change is happening, a rise in temperatures leads to hotter weather, and heatwaves or heat domes have become a regular phenomenon on land. Moreover, global warming has caused them to be hotter with a longer duration and an increased frequency.
Ring of fire thunderstorms: What is it?
Heat domes can act like large, unmovable bubbles, forcing any moisture to move up and over the heat bubble. Thunderstorms igniting on the fringe of a heat dome are called “ring of fire thunderstorms.” The ring of fire deals with thunderstorms along the northern edges of intense upper-level highs, and often, this also produces severe thunderstorms along the edges of the north of the heat.
Effects of heat dome
High temperatures and humidity cause heat domes, which makes the air feel even hotter.
This weather phenomenon often results in clear skies, as the sinking air suppresses the development of clouds and precipitation.
Like extreme heatwaves, heat domes can also lead to drought conditions, as they suppress the development of clouds and precipitation.
Excessive heat and humidity under a heat dome can be more than uncomfortable. It can lead to exhaustion and heat stroke, posing a severe threat, particularly to older people, young children, and individuals with certain medical conditions.
The impact of extreme heat is not limited to humans; it also has severe consequences for crops and animals. Crops are at risk of damage with the onset of drought conditions. We all need to be aware of and address this matter of concern.
Different from heatwave
The term’ heat dome’ is often confused with ‘heatwave ‘, but they are distinct phenomena. Heatwaves are periods of excessively hot weather that can occur without the presence of stationary high-pressure systems. On the other hand, a heat dome is a weather pattern characterized by a stationary high-pressure system. Understanding these differences is important to grasping the complexity of weather and climate phenomena.
Heat domes are like hot balloons, expanding and contracting as the day passes. They typically last a few days but occasionally last for up to weeks, resulting in heatwaves. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
