How Do Extreme Weather Studies Help Everyone?
Do you know what the World Weather Watch is? What does it stand for? Where can one get information about it? Before answering these questions let us take a look at what exactly is the World Weather Watch.
It is a non-profit organization formed in 1963 with the first aim of improving the climate and weather services all over the world. The main projects of this organization are located in Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. It aims to build up better climatic and meteorological tracking systems and improve the general quality of weather services. The World Weather Watch has the Tropical Cyclones Program, the Historical Global Environment Research Program (HEGR), the Antarctica Climate Research Program (CARP), the Global Atmosphere Hydroclimatology Programme (GYCP), the Climatology Satellite Program (uscript), the Earth System Model Analysis Programme (ESMAP), the Global Weather Reference Analysis Program (GYRA), the Global Hydrology Programme (GHAP), the Historical Weather Review Programme (THWRP), the Global Warming Programme (GEWLP), the Environmental Research Program (ERP), the precipitation forecasts, drought forecasts and snow forecasts. It also works towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improvising the quality and quantity of weather services worldwide.
What does the World Weather Watch actually do? It begins its mission by preparing forecasts on critical days using five major satellites. These are: the Very Small Earth Orbiting Mission (VLT), the Near Earth Orbit (LINE) – Orbiting Near Earth Objects ( NEO), the Ice Cloud Experiment (ICE), and the orbiting Hirogen probe. These observations form the basis for the forecasts. From this information, it is possible to analyze the general atmospheric conditions, the probability of extreme weather events, the location and behavior of major cyclones, upcoming weather events and the like.
The observations and data gathered are used in a number of ways. First, these data can be used to make forecasts. For instance, if there is an impending weather event, observations taken weeks or even months before the event can still give enough information to make a decent forecast. In addition, these forecasts can also be used for rapid studies. For instance, during a rapid climate change assessment, observations can be made to see how climate change will likely evolve over time.
In addition to providing information on climate change and the likelihood of extreme weather events, these studies also provide important details on temperature forecasts. To study global warming, a team from JPL made a study to study the relationship between surface temperature, humidity, precipitation and cloud cover at different locations around the world. The study found that certain atmospheric conditions, such as heatwave, cause warming. This is evident in the way that certain places have more hot summers and that some regions experience heavy rainfall more than others. Other measurements help scientists to study heatwaves. For example, precipitation can be measured in a variety of ways to study precipitation patterns and trends, such as how rain affects the climate in the United States or what effect the heatwave in Japan has on climate in that area.
A group from Penn State managed to record a record rainfall for the amount of times it has rained in a single day. They attributed this to a strong solar influence. Similarly, there are numerous other extreme heat records that were tied to specific weather conditions, including a study from the Naval Research Laboratory tied to the heat waves in Hawaii. These findings are helping to better predict future extreme weather events and improve emergency preparedness efforts.