Evolution of Storms: From Solar to Severe
摘要
Climate change is increasing the likelihood of severe storms. Attribution of any such single event on climate change is difficult, but warming has increased evaporation, intensifying the droughts and frequency of heavy rainfall or snowfall events. The decrease in temperature gradients and hence corresponding potential over different regions has changed the wind circulation patterns, affecting the weather. This chapter addresses the climate/weather/storm conditions from their origin to their evolutionary viewpoint. The role of the very processes/forces that has led to the formation of the Earth's atmosphere and its current climate trend are assumed to be trivial now from the energy budget perspective, and their role in climate change is highly debated. However, from its evolution perspective, they are still significant and require an understanding of climate history and natural causes. The Sun and the heat flux emanating from the Earth's surface acts as an energy source. The influence of the Sun and its variabilities (fluctuations in electromagnetic radiations and particles during different phases of the solar cycle and solar storms/flares) on climate conditions has been discussed. This also encapsulates the effect of Galactic cosmic rays and cloud-radiation interaction. The particle precipitation over the polar region can heat that region and impact the North Atlantic Oscillations (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) indices, which are representative of changes in the regional weather conditions. The solar cycle signals are also manifested in tropospheric winds. Furthermore, the effect of the increase in atmospheric CO2 content and ocean acidification on temperature increase and vis-e-versa, a feedback loop, has also been discussed from the perspective of climate changes and extreme weather conditions.