Weather hazards

Question 1

What is the order of cells going from top to bottom

Answer 1

Polar
Ferrel
Hadley
Hadey
Ferrel
Polar

Question 2

What is global atmospheric circulation

Answer 2

The transfer of heat from the equator to the poles by the movement of air

Question 3

Why does air move

Answer 3

Differences in air pressure

Question 4

Global atmospheric circulation summary

Answer 4

Sun warms equator causing air to rise

Air cools as it moves away from the equator

Cool air sinks creating a high pressure belt

Then the cool air either moves back to the equator as trade winds or towards the poles as westerlies

At 60 north and south of the equator the warmer surface meet colder air from the poles

Warm air rises creating low pressure

Some of the air moves back towards the equator and the rest back to the poles

At the poles the cool air sinks creating high pressure and the high pressure air is then drawn back towards the equator

Question 5

Where do tropical storms form

Answer 5

Between 5 and 30 degrees north and south of the equator

and where the sea temperature is 27 degrees or higher

Question 6

How do tropical storms form

Answer 6

Warm surface water evaporates and condenses into clouds

The rising air creates an area of low pressure which increases surface winds

Move west due to easterly winds

Spin because of Coriolis

Energy from the warm water strengthens the storm as it moves

Question 7

When do the majority of storms occur in the Northern/Southern hemisphere

Answer 7

Northern - August to October
Southern - December to April

Question 8

Features of a tropical storm

Answer 8

Eye is at the centre and up to 50km across

Very low pressure in the eye

Eye is surrounded by the eye wall where there is spiralling winds

Towards the edge of the storm the wind speed falls and the clouds become smaller and more scattered and the rain and temp decrease

Question 9

When was Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 9

November 2013

Question 10

Name one of the worst affected areas in Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 10

Tacloban

Question 11

Primary effects of Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 11

Over 6300 deaths

Over 1 million homes were damaged or destroyed

1.9 million people were made homeless

Flooded 600,000 ha of farmland

Question 12

Secondary effects of the Typhoon

Answer 12

Several landslides were triggered

5.6 million workers lost their jobs

Lack of clean water caused outbreak of diseases such as dysentery

Question 13

Immediate responses to the Typhoon

Answer 13

PAGASA (Philippines’ meteorological agency) broadcast warnings of the typhon 2 days before it hit. This led to the evacs of 800k residents before the storm

Plan International constructed pit latrines for 100k people to prevent spread of disease

The RAF donated 200 tonnes of aid

Question 14

What were long-term responses to the Typhoon

Answer 14

The UN appealed for over $300 million to help fund rebuilding

Storm resistant houses were built

The government planned on building a 4m dike in Tacloban to help reduce the affect of future storm surges

Question 15

How might climate change affect tropical storms

Answer 15

Frequency - temps will stay higher for more of the year

Distribution - more areas may experience storms

Intensity - more surface evap and more energy

In the Atlantic the number of major hurricanes has doubled since 1970

Question 16

Examples of different weather hazards in the UK

Answer 16

Strong winds - Storm Ali in 2018 killed 2 people with winds over 100mph blowing over trees

Heavy rainfall - Part of South Wales flooded in 2018 after over 180mm of rain fell in 48hrs

Snow and ice - 2018 Beast from the East brought up to 50cm of snow

Drought - 2022 had only 62% of the usual summer water - hosepipe bans

Thunderstorms - July 2014 a series of thunderstorms struck central England causing power cuts and delaying flights

Heat Waves - July 2022 with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees in Lincolnshire

Question 17

What is happening to the UK weather (extremity)

Answer 17

It is becoming more extreme

Temp:
The UK’s warmest 10 years have all occurred since 2002

Rainfall:
December 2015 was the wettest month ever recorded in the UK

Question 18

When were the Somerset Level floods

Answer 18

From December 2013 to February 2014, Somerset experienced 3x the average rainfall for those months

The rivers hadn’t been dredged so the reduced capacity meant that extensive flooding of the levels occurred

Question 19

Impacts of the Somerset Level floods

Answer 19

Social:
More than 600 homes were flooded

Villages such as Muchelney were cut off by road

Insurance prices soared

Environmental:
11.5 thousand ha were flooded - destroying crops

Decreased the long term fertility of the land

Economic:
Total damage over £80 million

Local companies lost more than £1.2 million in business

Loss of tourism cost the county more than £200 million

Question 20

Management strategies used by Somerset to reduce flood impact/risk

Answer 20

Before flood:
Warning systems such as the Met Office told people to find accommodation

Sand bags and floor boards to limit damage

After flood:
Somerset Levels and Moors Flood Action Plan - 20 year plan which aims to reduce the risk of future flooding by:

Regularly dredging the rivers Parrett and Tone

Building a tidal barrage at Bridgwater

Widening the River Sowy’s channel