About Anticyclones
- Anticyclones are areas of sinking air, leading to high atmospheric pressure.
- They are the opposite of cyclones (depressions), which can be associated with low stress, growing air, and stormy weather.
- Anticyclones regularly block depressions, slowing down or redirecting storms, and are as a result referred to as ‘Blocking Highs’.
Characteristics of an Anticyclone
- Pressure and Wind Patterns:
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- Small pressure gradients, which means the air stress does not change rapidly, ensuing in gentle winds.
- Air descends and warms, leading to dry and heat climate.
- Anticyclones are an awful lot larger than cyclones and might last for days or even weeks.
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- Blocking of Weather Systems:
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- Anticyclones block incoming depressions (low-strain structures), both slowing down storms or forcing them around the high-strain location.
- This can result in prolonged solid weather conditions.
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- Wind Circulation in Anticyclones:
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- Northern Hemisphere: Air actions clockwise due to the Coriolis Effect.
- Southern Hemisphere: Air movements counterclockwise (anticlockwise).
The Link between Anticyclone and Heat
- Stability and Weather Patterns: Anticyclones are regions of high stress in the atmosphere characterised by descending air, which stop the cloud formation and precipitation. This solid air mass has a tendency to promote clean skies and may cause prolonged durations of warm and dry climate.
- Amplification by Global Warming: Studies propose that international warming can intensify anticyclones, making them more potent and more persistent. Warmer temperatures because of climate change can decorate the evaporation of moisture from land and water surfaces, in addition reinforcing the stability of anticyclonic conditions.
- Feedback Loop: Anticyclones can create a feedback loop with global warming. As anticyclones persist, they are able to exacerbate heat waves by trapping heat near the surface, stopping it from escaping into the upper ecosystem. This trapped warmness can then further make the anticyclone stronger, leading to a self-reinforcing cycle of heat and stability.
Effects of Anticyclones
- Summer Impact: Heatwaves occur as air sinks and warms, trapping heat on the surface.
- Winter Impact: Can reason cold waves by trapping cold air on the surface. Leads to fog and frost in North India.
Drought Conditions: Prolonged anticyclones suppress rainfall, increasing the threat of droughts.
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