Weather

What is Weather?

• The day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere at a place with respect to elements like humidity, temperature, wind speed, rainfall, etc. is called the weather of that place.
• Weather can be cloudy, sunny, rainy, stormy or clear. It is a part of the natural phenomenon which maintains the equilibrium in the atmosphere.
• But conditions can be worse sometimes. When the atmospheric conditions are extreme or intense enough to cause property loss or life loss, such weather is termed as severe weather.
• These also vary according to the altitudes, latitudes, and region and pressure differences. Tornadoes, cyclones, heavy rainfall, fog, winter storms come under this category. They are disastrous and hazardous. Proper disaster management and strategies are required to handle these conditions.

Elements of Weather:

• Wind speed
• Humidity
• Temperature
• Rainfall
• Thunder
• Snow
• Lightning

Factors Affecting Weather:

• All the changes that happen in the weather are made by the sun. Because the sun has a very high temperature and it is a huge sphere of hot gases. It is the main source of heat and light for the earth. It is even the primary source of energy hence affects the weather.
• The energy reflected and absorbed by the earth’s surface, the oceans and the atmosphere play an important role in determining the weather at any place.
• Gases like methane, water vapour and carbon dioxide also play a role in determining the weather.

Understand how the atmosphere plays an important part in the formation of weather by visiting the article below:

• Layers of Atmosphere

Instruments Used to Measure Components of Weather:

• The temperature of a place is measured using Thermometer. The highest and lowest temperature of a place is measured using Maximum Minimum Thermometer (MMT).
• The rain gauge is used to measure the rainfall. The rain gauge is also known as Omreometer or Puliometer. It is expressed by using the units millimetres or centimetres.
• Anemometer is used to measure the speed and direction of the wind.
• The humidity of a place is defined as the quantity of moisture in the air and it is measured by using Hygrometer.

Climate of the place:

Every day the weather is recorded by the meteorologists and these records are preserved for decades. The pattern of the weather is determined with the help of these records. The average weather pattern taken over a long time is called the climate of the place.

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