Recently Canada was experiencing a severe heat wave which caused the unprecedented 195 percent rise in sudden fatalities last month. Also in the US, in Oregon the temperatures rose to 46 degrees celsius. The highest temperatures of Canada were recorded in country's west.
Unexpected deaths have also happened in Canada and an abnormal heat wave is responsible for the rising temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that this was all due to the formation of a heat dome.
How is a heat dome formed?
For people to understand this, they must imagine Pacific Ocean as a swimming pool with North America as the land next to it. Once the heaters are turned on in the pool, the portions closest to the heating jets would warm up faster and the temperature there would be higher than the rest.
Similarly, the Western Pacific's temperatures have increased in the past few decades and they are relatively more than the eastern side of the ocean. Take a look at pictorial form of heat dome below.
Thus the temperature gradient and pressure differences are formed which causes the heat from the Western part to travel to the Eastern part and the hot air mass is trapped in the western coast of North America. This process is called convection. The gradient causes the warm air that is heated by the surface of the ocean to rise over the Pacific's western side and decreases the convection above the central and eastern Pacific ocean.
The winds that prevail move the hot air to the east, the northern shifts of the jet streams trap the air and move it towards land where it sinks. This causes heat waves.
Where in the world is the effect of the heat dome?
The effect starts from western United States where the temperatures have climbed more than 20 degrees above the normal. The cities like Glasgow experienced a rise in temperature. The heatwave is the reason for drought-like conditions in the United States and Canada. There are also expected wildfires in North America due to it.
⚠️⚠️ Amber Weather Warning issued ⚠️⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) July 19, 2021
Extreme Heat across parts of South Wales, West Midlands, southern and southwestern England
Valid until 23:59 Thursday
This is the first ever Extreme Heat Warning issued#Heatwave
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/bTHUyFL6uL
The effect is felt across the Atlantic too where the temperatures have risen record high in Northern Ireland and British Isles too.
Owen Landeg, Public Health England’s scientific and technical lead, wrote in a news release, “As we experience the first hot weather episode of the year, it’s important for everyone to remember to adapt their behaviours.”
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