Ramblings of a 70-year old: weather

Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Climate change a matter of concern for the security of Britain

Britain is worried. Its national security appears on shaky ground. This is believed to be a fallout of the failure of the government. A parliamentary report cautions that the reasons for such a situation could be attributed extreme weather events caused by climate change. The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy consists of senior MPs and peers. It has urged the government to take control of the major security risks posed by the effects of climate change on critical national infrastructure. These include power, transport, water and communications. The world of today depends heavily on these factors. The report highlight salient issues of the recent past that could be pointers on possible repercussions in future. A few of these are – (i) loss of power to millions in parts of England and Scotland during Storm Arwen in November 2021 due to downing of power lines (ii) loss of lives in Scotland due to derailment of a train in August 2020 and (iii) heatwave of July 2022 when temperatures rose to 104F in the U.K. UK security in danger as govt fails to prepare for extreme weather sparked by climate change - report. The report mentions about finding "overwhelming evidence" that climate change is already having an impact on UK infrastructure and that "no minister has been taking responsibility" for adapting it.

The report follows a series of extreme weather events in recent years. It reveals an "extreme weakness at the centre of government." Moreover, the committee hauls up the ministers of "a severe dereliction of duty" and stresses that "even more severe weather - and consequent impacts - will be prevalent soon." These observations leads the experts to predict that high temperatures are likely to give rise to issues like sagging of electricity cables, softening of roads and increase in the frequency of flooding. These, in turn, might result in frequent failure of railway embankments. Chair of the Joint Committee, Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, said Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister “must pull all the strands of government together to mitigate against potential disasters… This government must finally recognise that prevention is better than cure and move on from their dangerously reactive approach to risk management."

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Sun temple at Konark and the Konark town to be solar powered from next financial year

Odisha has taken a very appropriate decision to go in for solar power for its Sun temple and the city where this 13th-century Konarak temple is located. This is likely be in operation from next financial year. Grid Corporation of Odisha (GRIDCO) will undertake the work. It will be under a scheme of MNRE (ministry of new and renewable energy). GRIDCO said - “A power purchase agreement was signed between Gridco and M/S Konark Suryanagari Private Limited for procurement of 10mw solar power toward 100 per cent solarisation of Konark Sun temple and Konark town under MNRE (ministry of new and renewable energy) scheme.” Under the agreement, solar power will be available for 25 years from 2023-24 at a nominal tariff without having any central sector transmission charges and losses. Odisha: Solar power to illuminate Sun temple. Solar power falls in the category of renewable energy and missions to the Moon and Mars depend on power drawn from the Sun. There has to be more such projects to reduce extracting power from fossil fuels.

The government of Odisha has earmarked funds for the development of the area under the Konark Heritage Development Project. Under the project, different types of development work will be taken up. These would include the up-gradation of various aspects of the Sun Temple. The categories would be landscaping, the development of pedestrian areas, apart from parking, and revamping of the open-air theatre. Moreover, in order to prevent the effects of the saline wind on the Sun temple, the state government also plans to plant expand the green cover. They plan to do this by planting a large number of casuarina trees around the temple complex as well as along the coastline. An official added - “A permanent weather monitoring station may be installed at the site to capture the real-time data of salt-laden winds impacting the wind.”

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

A cyclonic circulation developing over the Andaman Sea threatens Kolkata with rains during Diwali

Kolkata might have to face rains during Diwali to be celebrated on October 24. This could be because of a fresh weather system developing over the Andaman Sea. The Met forecast says the cyclonic circulation could get stronger. The director-general of India Meteorological Department provided details. He explained - “A cyclonic circulation has formed over the central and adjoining north Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood. It is expected to move west-northwestwards. Around October 20-21, it is expected to be over the central Bay of Bengal as a low-pressure area. By October 22, it will become a depression.” He cautioned the people against jumping into a premature conclusion that the system would turn into a cyclone. He admitted that - “What happens after the system turns into a depression is still not clear. The IMD is constantly monitoring the system.” Bay of Bengal system threatens rain in Kolkata on Diwali. He concluded that it might be a rainy Diwali in Kolkata.

The deputy director-general of IMD, Kolkata informed that the Met office would soon issue a detailed forecast for Diwali. It would cover the expected spread and intensity of the rain. According to a Met official, the months of May and October-November are the pre-and post-monsoon months. These are favorable for cyclonic storms because the sea surface temperature is on the higher side. Incidentally, a weather system draws on the heat and moisture to gain strength on the sea. The IMD radar system atop the New Secretariat building on Strand Road is under repairs. IMD and ISRO are involved in the work and it would be complete by year-end, or the beginning of next year. It was imported from Germany in 2002 and two more radar will arrive in Kolkata in a couple of years.

Monday, August 29, 2022

NASA enters second phase of going to the Moon after 50 years

The world is waiting for NASA to enter the second phase of exploring the Moon. Its Space Launch System SLS is set to lift-off to set the foundation for the Artemis project. This is being developed to put humans back on the lunar surface after half a century. The mission will also pave the way for flights to Mars in the 2040s. At present, the rocket will conduct test on a capsule far from Earth. This capsule is called Orion, the program calls for the spacecraft to loop around the Moon on a big arc. It will later return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean in six weeks' time. Orion is unmanned for this demonstration. However, in case everything goes as per plans, astronauts will be on board for missions that are more complex. These could begin in 2024. Artemis: Nasa ready to launch new era of Moon exploration. NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik explains the objective. He says - "Everything we're doing with this Artemis I flight, we're looking at through the lens of what can we prove out and what can we demonstrate that will buy down risk for the Artemis II crewed mission."

The American space agency has multiple opportunities to fly SLS-Orion. However, its intention would be to seize the first available opportunity. Right now, the weather in Florida is very dynamic. There are possibilities of electrical storms passing over the spaceport. In fact, the lightning towers have already been struck recently a number of times. Therefore, NASA has to weigh all the options available and select the most appropriate time slot. Incidentally, the rocket is not supposed to lift off in the rain.