WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Weather- the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as regards heat, cloudiness,
dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.

 The weather is all around us, all the time.

 It is an important part of our lives and one that we cannot control.

Climate- meanwhile is defined as the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or

over a long period usually 30-40 years.

 It is the long term weather pattern of a given area.

 It is especially important in activities such as agriculture.
 It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity,
atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other
meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time.

Differences between Weather and Climate

WEATHER CLIMATE
Describes the atmospheric conditions at a specific Describes the average conditions expected at a
place at a specific point in time. Weather generally specific place at a given time
refers to day-to-day temperature and precipitation
activity (e.g. rain or snow)

Measured for short term e.g. on a day to day basis Measured over a long period typically 30-40 years.

The study of weather is called meteorology. The study of the climate is called climatology.

Elements of weather and their instruments and units of measurement

Zimbabweans typically use the metric system of measurement for example meters for distance
and kilograms for weight. Weather is made up of several elements such as temperature which
are measured using various specialized instruments and expressed in their units.

While the metric units is common in most areas of our lives, weather elements are sometimes
measured in imperial units for example wind speed is measured in knots. In other instances
different countries use different units. For example the United States uses Degrees Fahrenheit to
measure temperature. In the real world you should study the unit used to express weather
carefully before making comparisons for example a temperature of 45 °F (around 7 °C )could
be described as cool which is not what you would think if you just thought of it as 45 °C “hot”
which is a temperature associated with hot deserts.

The following elements are some of the most commonly used to express weather.

 Temperature-Six’s thermometer otherwise known as the maximum and minimum

thermometer. It is expressed in Degrees Celsius.
 Humidity-Hygrometer/psychrometer/satellites-Humidity is measured as a percentage.
 Pressure-is measured using a Barometer and expressed in millibars.
 Wind direction-Wind Vane- it is expressed using the cardinal points of a campus e.g.
SE.
 Wind speed-Cup anemometer and expressed in knots.
 Sunshine-sunshine recorder and it is express in hours and minutes.
 Cloud cover-observed using the eyes and is measured in Oktas.

Weather report

 A systematic statement of the existing and usually the predicted meteorological

conditions over a particular area.
 The information is obtained from a weather station e.g. Belvedere

Weather forecast

 It is a prediction of weather phenomena, trend and events.

 Weather forecasts are made by collecting as much data as possible about the current
state of the atmosphere (particularly the temperature, humidity and wind) and using
understanding of atmospheric processes (through meteorology) to determine how the
atmosphere evolves in the future.
 The chaotic nature of the atmosphere and incomplete understanding of the processes
mean that forecasts become less accurate as the range of the forecast increases.
 Information gained from the observations is used in conjunction with complicated models
and computer simulations are used to predict future weather.

Importance of weather forecast to people

 People can be made aware of looming weather hazards such as thunderstorms and
cyclones and take precautionary measures such as evacuating the areas that will be
affected.
  So that people can know which type of clothes to wear for example whether to carry a
rain coat or umbrella or not.
 Farmers can make more informed planning decisions e.g. when to spray, plant or harvest.
 Pilots know which routes to take when flying and how to land and take off.
 When making sporting calendars for example games like cricket are hugely affected
by weather so we can choose to play indoor sports instead.

Weather Station

 A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for
measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to
study the weather and climate.
 Most instruments used in measuring weather elements are found in a weather station.

 This is a place where weather events are recorded for example Kutsaga research station
along Airport Road.
 It is situated in an open space away from buildings and trees.
 Trees can affect weather phenomena for example by acting as wind-breaks thus
affecting the wind speed and direction readings.
 Building act as thermal sinks i.e. they store heat energy thus distorting heat readings.

Instruments and items found at a weather station

1. Stevenson screen.

2. Six’s thermometer.

3. Hygrometer.
4. Barometer.

5. Sunshine recorder.

6. Anemometer.

7. Rain gauge.

8. Evaporation dish.

 For a long time technicians had to go to the weather station at a fixed time every day
and record various measurements shown by the instruments, reset the instruments and
feed the data into computers manually. This is becoming less common as Automated
Weather stations become more and more popular. These save on the human energy
required to man them, can provide up to date data via the internet and can be deployed
in harsh remote areas such as the Arctics and Polar regions.

Stevenson Screen

 A Stevenson screen is a prominent feature on most weather stations. It is used to house

weather instruments, for example the six’s thermometer and hydrometer.
 It is painted white in order to reflect excessive heat.
  It is 1.2 meters above the ground to avoid ground weather conditions from affecting the
readings yielded by the housed instruments.
 It has louvered sides to allow for free circulation of air.
 It has a double roof to reduce excessive heat from the sun.
 It is made of wood to reduce excessive heat.
 It has metal legs to avoid attacks by termites. Sometimes the legs are made of treated
wood for the same reason.

Temperature

 The daily maximum and minimum temperatures are measured using Six’s thermometer
(pictured below).
 It was invented by James Six a British scientist hence the name Six’s thermometer.
 It is also known as the Maximum and Minimum thermometer. It is housed in a Stevenson’s
screen. Diurnal range is the difference between the maximum and minimum
temperatures.

Six’s thermometer

How it works

 When temperature rises it pushes the alcohol in the left hand limp down and forces
mercury in the right hand limp up.
 The alcohol heats up and part of it is vaporized to occupy the conical bulb.
  The reading is taken on the right hand limp which is in the left hand limp contracts and
some of the alcohol in the conical bulb liquefies so that the mercury flows in the opposite
direction.
 The minimum temperature is read just above the metal index on the right hand limp.

Common problems encountered when using the instrument

 Failing to identify mercury or alcohol.

 Failure to identify the maximum and minimum thermometer.
 Reading errors for example taking the measurement of the maximum thermometer
above the metal index and that of the minimum thermometer below the index.
 Digital thermometers are becoming more and more common. They are not necessarily
more accurate than the traditional mercury and alcohol thermometers but they are easier
to read.

Wind direction and speed.

 Wind is the movement of air across the earth’s surface due to differences in pressure
between two regions.
 Air moves from high pressure regions to low pressure regions (Pressure Gradient).
 The differences in pressure can be caused by differential heating of the earth’s surface
or by earth and sea breezes.

Two aspects of wind are measured at weather stations:

1. Wind direction- this is done using a wind wane-the red-tailed instrument in the picture and
the information is plotted given in terms of the cardinal points of a compass.

Points of a compass
  The four points N, S, E and W are referred to as the cardinal points. The additional four
points SW, SE, NE and NW are referred to as the inter-cardinal or ordinal points.
 The additional points e.g. SSW are called the secondary-inter-cardinal points.
 Wind direction is typically given in using either the cardinal points or sometimes in terms
of the ordinal points.

2. Wind speed- this is done using a cup anemometer and the speed is given in knots or as is
increasingly becoming the case in km/hr.

Knots

 A note is a speed equal to 1.852 Km/hr.

 It used to be the most popular unit to measure air speed and ZIMSEC examinations and
textbooks still use it.
  It has largely been superseded in most reports by the more familiar metric unit km/hr.

Sunshine

 It is measured by a sunshine recorder

 The sunshine recorder has a glass sphere surrounded by a metal frame.
 On the frame is attached a sensitive card.
 The sphere focuses the sun’s rays onto the card.
 As the sun moves across the sky it burns a trace on the card.
 At the end of the day the card is taken out and the length is measured in hours and
minutes.
 There are digital versions that continually record the amount of sunlight.
 Sunshine is important for various activities for example solar drying of crops or solar
energy generation.

Pressure

 It is the pressure exerted by the weight of air in the atmosphere of Earth.

 It is measured in millibars.
 It is measured using an instrument known as a barometer.
  There are two different types of barometers: the mercury and aneroid barometers.

Mercury barometer

 A diagram showing how a Mercury barometer works.

 It is very large, the glass tube is typically almost 1m in height.
 It gives very accurate readings.
 It has a bulb that is dipped in a container of mercury.
 When the atmospheric pressure rises, it exerts force its force on the mercury which
becomes compressed.
 The mercury is pushed up the bulb to a height of 760 mm.
 When pressure decreases the mercury contracts and moves down the thermometer.

Advantages

 It gives accurate readings.

 It is simple to construct and maintain.

Disadvantages

 It is very large and cumbersome.

 Mercury must be at least a meter long.
 They break easily.
 They cannot produce a continuous reading, so readings have to be taken regularly.
 Mercury is a dangerous poison.

Aneroid Barometer
  A diagram showing an Aneroid barometer.

 These are portable and can be safely used at homes and schools as they do not contain
mercury.
 They are made up of an air-tight metal box.
 If pressure increases the box is squashed inwards.
 Conversely if pressure decreases the box expands outwards.
 A complex series of springs is attached to the box.
 The other end of the spring is connected to a point which has a calibrated dial on the
other end to record the various pressure readings.
 The spring amplifies the expansions and contractions of the box in accordance to
atmospheric pressure.

Advantages

 It is portable.
 It can be safely used in the home or at school since it does not rely on mercury which is
poisonous.
 It is easier to read since it comes with a calibrated dial.
 Can make continuous readings.
 Can be attached to a computer to make automated continuous readings.

Disadvantages

 It is less accurate.
 Requires great skill and expertise to make.
Humidity

 A quantity representing the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere.

 It is measured using a hygrometer.
 The wet and dry bulb thermometer is also known as a psychrometer.
 Weather satellites can also measure the amount of humidity in the atmosphere. A
hygrometer measures the humidity in the atmosphere using two thermometers: dry and
wet bulb thermometers.

 The wet bulb thermometer is wrapped in thin muslin and dipped in a container of water
to keep the muslin cloth wet.
 If the air is dry water evaporates from the muslin and cools such that the mercury
contracts.
 The dry bulb is not affected hence the two show different readings.
 The wet bulb shows a low reading whilst the dry bulb shows a higher reading.
 Depression/Difference is equal to the reading of the dry bulb less the reading of the
wet bulb thermometer.
 The humidity is then found by reading humidity tables. For example if there is no
difference between the two readings the humidity is 100%
 Electronic hygrometers are also used. These are easier to read.
 Relative humidity is measured in percentage terms.
Types of humidity

There are several ways to measure and express humidity:

1. Absolute Humidity-the total mass of water vapour present in a given volume of air.

2. Relative Humidity-the amount of water vapour in a given volume of air at a given

temperature.

3. Specific Humidity-the ratio of the mass of water vapour to the mass of the parcel of air.

Clouds

 Refers to the fraction of the sky obscured by clouds when observed from a particular
location.
 Okta is the usual unit of measurement of the cloud cover.
 Sky conditions are estimated in terms of how many eighths of the sky are covered in
cloud, ranging from 0 oktas (completely clear sky) through to 8 oktas (completely
overcast).

Cloud cover symbols and measurements.

 The diagram above shows how cloud cover can be estimated.

 An eye observer makes the necessary estimates at a given point of measurement.
 3D cameras and computing software can also be used to make more accurate estimates
of cloud cover nowadays.

Classification of clouds

 Clouds are classified according to height and form of appearance.

  There are high level, middle level and low level clouds. Various adjectives are used to
denote height and form (shape).

High Level clouds

 Cirro is Latin word for high/crest.

 The adjectives are used to describe high level clouds. It is used for clouds found between
6 000m to 12 000m.
 Examples include cirrus, cirrostratus and cirro-cumulous clouds.

Middle Level Clouds

 Alto means middle.

 These range between 2 100m and 6 000m.
 Examples include alto-cumulus, altostratus and strato-cumulous.

Low level clouds

 Nimbus means water bearing.

 These are below 2 100m.
 Examples include cumulonimbus, cumulous, nimbostratus and stratus clouds.

NB. Some clouds transverse all heights. These are referred to as clouds of great-vertical extent
for example cumulonimbus clouds.

 Adjectives used to describe form:-

 Cumulus means heaped.
 Stratus means layered.
 Cirrus means curly.

Common/important cloud types

Cirrus clouds

 Wispy white clouds with a feathery and patchy cover.

 Have a silky sheen appearance.
 Are composed of ice crystals.
 They hardly block sunlight.
 They give the sun a red or yellow colour during sunset and sunrise.

Cumulonimbus clouds

 Cumulonimbus clouds
  They are usually anvil shaped at the top.
 Extend to great vertical distance.
 They are black or white, heaped.
 Are associated with torrential rainfall and thunderstorms.

Nimbostratus clouds

 They are dark grey.

 Dense, shapeless.
 Are associated with rain.

Altocumulus clouds

 White or grey and patched.

 Are made up of laminae (plates)
 When the sun passes over them they form a corona.

AIR MASSES

 An air mass is a large body of air, whose properties – temperature, humidity (air
moisture) and lapse rate – are largely uniform (the same) over an area several hundred
kilometres across.
  The regions where air masses form are referred to as air mass source regions.
 An air mass acquires its distinctive characteristics in a source region where there is a
large and fairly uniform surface, either water or land, over which air remains fairly
stagnant for a period of at least a few days.
 If air remains over a source region long enough, it will acquire the properties of the
surface below it.
 Examples of ideal source regions for air masses include Siberia,
 Oceans like the Indian Ocean and large deserts like Sahara.
 The air stagnates to form a high pressure system (region).
 Air masses are classified according to their temperature and moisture characteristics.
 The properties of an air mass that it acquires from the source region depend on a number
of factors for example the time of the year (summer, winter, autumn), the nature of the
underlying surface (ocean, land or desert), and the length of time the air mass remains
over its source region.
 Air masses are grouped into four categories based on their source region.
 Air masses that originate in the cold, Polar Regions are designated with a capital “P”
for polar.
 Air masses that originate in the warm, tropical regions are designated with a capital “T”
for tropical.
 Air masses that originate over land will be dry and are designated with a lowercase “c”
for continental.
 Air masses that originate over water will be moist and are designated with a lowercase
“m” for maritime
 These letters are combined to indicate the type of air mass for example Tropical
Maritime, Tropical Continental etc.
 In moving away from their source regions, air masses will be modified by the surface
over which they pass and thus their later properties will depend not only on their source
region but also on the nature of the surface they pass over and their age since being
formed.
 The southern pole is completely surrounded by the Antarctic and therefore the two (pole
and Antarctic) are treated as one origin.
 Two major air masses reach Zimbabwe i.e. polar maritime and tropical maritime.
 The tropical continental air mass is resident to Zimbabwe.

Types of air masses

  Africa is affected almost exclusively by tropical and equatorial air masses, with tropical
continental (CT) air masses dominant in the northern third of the continent and in other
smaller patches, tropical maritime (MT) and equatorial (E) air masses most influential in
coastal and equatorial Africa

1) Tropical continental

 Originate over North Africa and the Sahara desert.

 Characteristically hot and very dry.
 Very unstable, yet clear conditions predominate due to a lack of water vapour.

2. Tropical Maritime

 Form over low latitude oceans and as such are very warm, humid, and unstable.
 The tropical maritime air mass that reaches Zimbabwe is the NE trades originating from
the northern hemisphere subtropical anticyclone usually cantered over central Indian
Ocean (over the equator).

3. Polar maritime

 The SE trades originating from the southern hemisphere subtropical anticyclonic cells and
whose fetch begins from Antarctic, constitute the polar maritime air mass.
 The South Easterly trade winds are a winter feature in Zimbabwe.
 They are cooler and moister than the resident tropical continental air during winter.
 When they prevail over the country during the summer season, they still remain cooler
but are drier than the local air.

Air masses affecting Zimbabwe

1. South East Trade Winds

 Are cool moist prevailing winds which blow throughout the year
 They are usually associated with continuous light showers and drizzle especially on
windward slopes.
 They often give rise to guti conditions immediately after the rainy season. When they
blow strongly from the south east they often give clear weather in summer and cloudy
weather in winter.

2. Zaire Air (North West Monsoons)

 These only blow in summer.

  They are actually the re-curved South East trades which upon approaching Angola get
drawn into Zimbabwe via DRC by the intense low pressure of the ITCZ.
 They bring a lot rain to Zimbabwe and Central Africa as they collect moisture from both
the Atlantic Ocean and the Congo rain forest.

3. North East Monsoons

 Only blow in the summer and cause rain to fall in the Northern parts of Zimbabwe
especially in late December to early January.
 They are not as moist as the North West Monsoons.

Pressure

The world’s pressure belts and winds

 Air has weight and therefore exerts pressure, called atmospheric pressure onto the
earth’s surface.
 The pressure is not the same for all regions nor is it the same for any one region all the
time that is pressure is higher for one part of the year than other times of the year.
 Atmospheric pressure is affected by: altitude, temperature and the earth’s rotation.

Altitude

 Altitude refers to height above sea level.

 Air pressure is higher at sea level than it is at the top of a mountain.
 This is because at sea level air has to support greater weight of air than air at the top
of the mountain.
  The molecules of air at sea level push outwards with a force equal to that exerted by
the air above it whereas air at the top of a mountain pushes outwards with much less
force because the weight of the air above it is less.
 This explains why air pressure increases when air descends.
 When air descends its volume decreases but the number of molecules remain the same
in number resulting in more molecules occupying a smaller volume.
 Conversely when air rises its volume increases and its outward force is spread over a
larger area thus its pressure decreases.

Temperature

 The temperature of air rises when its pressure rises.

 The temperature of air falls when its pressure falls.
 The pressure of air falls when its temperature rises.
 The pressure of air rises when its temperature falls.
 If only temperature affected pressure there would be a belt of low pressure around the
earth at the equator, two belts of high pressure one over both the North and South Poles.
 Because all because altitude and the earth’s rotation also affect pressure the resulting
pattern is not as simple as this.

The influence of the earth’s rotation on pressure.

 The rotation of the earth causes the air at the poles to be “thrown” away towards the
equator.
 In theory this would result in air piling at the equator creating a region of High pressure
at the equator.
 The reality is much more complicated as other factors like temperature also affect
pressure.

Pressure belts

 Low temperatures at the poles cause the air to contract and high pressure develops as
a result.
 High temperatures along the equator cause the air to expand and low pressure, called
the doldrums low pressure (the ITCZ), and develops.
 Air blowing away from the poles crosses parallels and creates low pressure belts along
60°N and 60°S.
 As air moves in from the poles more air moves in from higher levels to take its place.
 Some of this comes from the rising low pressure air along 60°S and 60°N.
  Air rising at the equator spreads out and moves towards the poles.
 As it does so it crosses parallels that are getting shorter and has to occupy less space
resulting in an increase in pressure as it contracts.
 This happens near 30°N and 30°S and the air begins to sink where it builds up sub-
tropical high pressure belts called horse latitudes.
 Some of the High pressure air in latitudes 30°N and 30°S moves over the surface
towards the equator and some of it towards the poles.
 The air that moves towards the equator replaces the air that rises there.
 The air moving towards the poles reaches latitudes 60°N and 60°S where it replaces
the air that rises there.
 Winds blow over the surface blow from high pressure to low pressure areas.
 At high levels blow from low pressure systems to high pressure systems.
 In each hemisphere there are three pressure systems: Polar High Pressure, Temperate
Low pressure and Sub-Tropical High pressure and in the midst of both poles is the
Equatorial Low pressure.
 This is all assuming the earth’s surface was flat and uniform i.e. if the earth was an
isotropic plane.

Actual pressure systems

 The earth’s surfaces is not uniform: there are water and land masses of different shapes
and sizes.
 The earth’s is also tilted at angle of 66.5 degrees and the earth and land masses are
heated and cool at different rates.

Pressure belts and winds

 The earth’s (planetary) wind systems are caused and controlled by the major pressure
belts outlined above.
 The pressure patterns and winds are shown in the two diagrams below.
 These patterns in pressure and winds change seasonally according to changes in
temperature.
 Due to the rotation of the earth winds are deflected to the right in the northern
hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.
 Planetary winds are sometimes known as prevailing winds because they blow more
frequently than most winds.
 Winds are named after the direction which they blow.
There are 3 major wind systems in each hemisphere:

In the Northern Hemisphere:

1. North East Polar winds: blow from the polar high pressure towards the temperature low
pressure in latitude 60°N (temperate low).

2. South West Winds: blow from the sub-tropical high pressure regions in latitude 30°N towards
the temperate low pressure zone.

3. North East Trade Winds: blow from the sub-tropical high pressure towards the doldrums along
the equator.

In the Southern Hemisphere:

1. South East Polar winds: blow from the polar high pressure towards the low temperate pressure
regions in latitude

60°S.

2. North East Winds: blow from the sub-tropical high pressure in latitude 30°S towards the
temperate low pressure.

3. South East Trade Winds: blow from the sub-tropical high pressure regions towards the
doldrums.

Pressure belts in diagrams

Pressure belts and associated wind patterns if without the earth’s rotational deflection.

The earth’s pressure belts and associated wind patterns when the earth’s rotational deflection is
taken into account.
Conditions-November to March

 High temperatures occur over central and southern Africa.

 This results in low pressure developing over this part of the continent.
 At the same time temperatures are lower over the South
 Atlantic and Indian Oceans and pressure over these oceans is relatively high.
 North Africa is much cooler than the rest of Africa and high pressure therefore develops
 Winds blow out from the tropical continental high pressure arr mass over northern Africa.
 Some of these winds blow towards the low pressure area to the south.
 The winds blow from the north east over West Africa.
 Because they originate from the desert the winds are dry and dusty.
 They are called harmattan winds.
 They are prevented from going further south by winds blowing form the South Atlantic
Ocean.
 The North-East Trade Winds affect the east coast of Africa, while the South-East trade
winds operate along the South-East coast.
 Both winds make for the low pressure over Central Africa.
 During this period, south-west winds blow across the south-west tip of the continent.

Conditions from May to September.

 High temperatures over northern Africa give rise to the development of a low pressure
system.
 High pressure lies over southern Africa and over the Indian Ocean to the east.
 Winds blow from the tropical maritime air mass over the South Atlantic Ocean, towards
the continental low pressure air mass over the Sahara.
 These winds start as South-East trade winds but as they move north of the equator they
are drawn across the coast of West Africa towards the Sahara low pressure.
 They now blow from the south west and become the south west monsoonal winds.
 They are warm and moist.
 During this period areas south of the Sahara are warm and dry.

Rainfall

 Rainfall is just one form of precipitation.

 Precipitation occurs when warm moist air rises or is forced to rise.
 Water vapour in the air parcel cools and condenses to form clouds.
 This is because temperature falls with increase in altitude.
  When condensation occurs it produces minute droplets of less than 0.05mm in diameter.
 When these droplets join together and grow to fall of their own weight it is called rain.
 The places that receive a lot of Relief rainfall. Image Credit

Relief rainfall

 Results when near saturated, warm maritime air is forced to rise by a coastal mountain
barrier.
 Mountains reduce the water holding capacity of the rising air by enforced cooling.
 In Zimbabwe it mostly occurs in the Eastern Highlands in areas like Chimanimani, Honde
Valley and Nyanga.
 Warm South East Trades pick up moist from the Indian Ocean.
 They encounter a barrier mountain that is parallel to the coastline for example Mt
Inyangani and the Chimanimani Mountains.
 The SE Trades are forced to rise by the mountain, cool and condense and rain occurs on
the South Eastern slopes or the windward slopes of the mountain.
 On the leeward side of the mountain it is dry.
 The descending SE trades are dry and warm resulting in little to no rainfall.
 The leeward side is sometimes known as a rain shadow area. Examples include Save
valley and Marange area.
 Relief rainfall occurs in all altitudes
 Rain occurs on the Windward side and little/no rain on the leeward slope.

 Most of the rain occurs on the Eastern side of the slope.

 Aberfoyle Tea Estate in the Honde Valley Eastern Highlands is one of the places that
receive a lot of Relief rainfall.
Convectional Rainfall

 This is the main type of rainfall in the humid tropics such as the Amazon and Congo rain
forests.
 Occurs when the ground surface is locally overheated because in the tropics the surfaces
and the air above them gets very hot and powerful convection currents are set up in the
air.
 First the adjacent air is heated by conduction, then it expands and rises.
 During the ascent the air mass remains warmer than the surrounding environmental air
thus becoming unstable.
 The air is cooled as it rises producing towering cumulonimbus clouds.
 The up draught (upward rising of the air) is maintained by energy released as latent
heat is released at both condensation and freezing levels.
 Since the air is hot before it is forced to rise, it is able to absorb very large amounts of
moisture and when it is forced to rise by the convectional currents torrential rainfall
results.
 Due to the large amounts heat released by release of latent heat at condensation and
freezing level very powerful thunderstorms that are associated with rain forests develop.
 Maximum heating of surfaces occurs during the afternoon and it is at this time that
convectional rain tends to fall.
 Most rainfall that fall in West and Central Africa is convectional rainfall.
 Convectional Rainfall commonly occurs in rainforests
Zimbabwe receives most of its rainfall from the ITCZ.

Frontal/ Cyclonic/Convergence Rainfall

 This is also known as frontal or cyclonic or depression rainfall.

 Cyclonic rainfall occurs in the temperate latitudes and is closely associated with winds
called the Westerlies.
 It also occurs in the tropical latitudes in the form of tropical cyclones.
 In both cases, whether it is a depression in the temperate latitudes or a cyclone in the
tropical latitudes, cyclonic rainfall results from the movement of a low pressure system
that has air whirling around it.
 While the names cyclonic and depression rainfall are used for obvious reasons above
i.e. these rains are associated with depressions and cyclones, the name convergence
rainfall is sometimes used because this type of rainfall occurs when air masses of
different characteristics meet (converges).
 The term frontal rainfall is also used because the rainfall occurs along fronts.

The formation of cyclonic rainfall

The formation of Frontal/ Convergence/Cyclonic/Depression rainfall.

 Two or more winds/currents with different temperatures meet for example in Southern
Africa including Zimbabwe the North East
 Monsoon meets the South East Trade Wind (from the south east of the continent which
brings is warm and moist having obtained moisture from the Indian Ocean by blowing
across the Benguela current).
  The two air masses (one warm and one cold) do not mix, they form a front.
 The colder air mass is heavier than the warmer air mass, therefore the lighter, warmer
air rises over the top of the heavier, colder air.
 As the warm air is forced to rise it cools. Also, the warm air is in contact with the cold air
along the fronts, and this also cools.
 Condensation occurs and clouds form.
 Rain occurs along the front.

The ITCZ (Inter-tropical Convergence Zone)

A diagram showing the position of the ITCZ during Zimbabwe’s summer (December/January)
and during Zimbabwe’s winter (June/ July).

 Most of the rain that falls in Zimbabwe comes due to the seasonal shift of the ITCZ.
 The ITCZ is a zone that is encircles (goes right round) the earth and is roughly parallel
to the equator.
 It moves north and south following the sun, usually with a lag of 4–6 weeks.
 The sun is over the equator on 21 March each year, it reaches the tropic of Cancer
(North of the equator) on 21 June, the equator again on 21 September, and the tropic
of Capricorn (South of the equator) on 21 December.
 The sun’s heat causes a low-pressure regions to develop within the ITCZ.
 North and south of the ITCZ are there are high-pressure belts that also encircle the earth.
 This forces air masses to “converge” within this zone as they move from the North and
South of the ITCZ to meet within this zone.
  The ITCZ brings cyclonic rainfall to Zimbabwe during the December- January months.
 In fact most of the rain received in Zimbabwe and most of the
 Southern African countries like Mozambique, Madagascar and Zambia is due to the
movement of the ITCZ during our summer.
 Sometimes these rains can last for days on end cause minor to major floods especially
in low lying areas like Muzarabani and Tokwe-Mukosi.
 When the ITCZ moves North during the winter months we experience
 High pressure conditions with no/very little precipitation and clear skies.
 Because of Zimbabwe’s proximity to the equator it means there are very little changes
in pressure.
 The yearly migrations of the ITCZ bring about the major seasonal changes of winter and
summer.
 Although other forms of precipitation occur like the Orographic rainfall in the Eastern
Highlands of Zimbabwe the ITCZ is the major governor of rain in the country.

There are other forms of precipitation besides rain such as sleet, hail, dew, hoar frost, fog and
rime and snow.

Types of rain

 There are various types of rain depending on how the air rises/ is forced to rise these
are:

Other types of precipitation

1. Sleet

Sleet falling

 A mixture of snow and rain.

  Usually formed by snow melting as it falls.

2. Hail

A hailstorm

 A solid form of precipitation.

 It consists of balls of irregular lumps of ice falling from the sky each of which is called a
hailstone.
 When large chunks of ice falling from the sky it is referred to as a hailstorm.
3. Dew

Dew in the morning

 Dew is the small droplets of water that appear on objects such as leaves or grass in the
morning or evening due to processes of condensation.
  Dew forms when the temperature of a surface cools down to a temperature that is cooler
than the dew point of the air next to it.
 The temperature at which droplets form is called the dew point.
4. Hoar Frost

Hoar Frost

 Frost is the coating or deposit of ice that may form in humid air in cold conditions, usually
overnight.
 Is common in places like Nyanga, Marondera and some parts of Harare in winter.
5. Fog/Mist

Fog

 It is a visible mass consisting of cloud water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air
at or near the Earth’s surface.
 Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud, and is heavily influenced by nearby
bodies of water, topography, wind conditions, and even human activities.
 Fog reduces visibility to less than 1 km while in a mist visibility is reduced to between 1
and 2 km.
6. Rime

Rime

 It is a white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces
of objects.
 Often seen on trees.

7. Snow

Snow

 It is precipitation in the form of flakes of ice particles that fall from the clouds.
 Snow does not occur in Zimbabwe although it is common in countries like the UK during
winter.
8. Drizzle

Drizzle

 Very fine rain.

 Usually falls from layers of cloud that have very limited vertical development e.g. stratus
clouds considered a type of low-lying cloud, and is heavily influenced by nearby bodies
of water, topography, wind conditions, and even human activities.

Prevailing Winds in Southern Africa

 The eastern parts of Zimbabwe about 200km from the port of Beira and on average
Zimbabwe is about 400km from the Indian Ocean, the closest ocean to the country.
 Due to its proximity to the ocean and the fact that land has a lower specific heat capacity
when compared to the Ocean (i.e. the land always cools faster than the Ocean), most of
the prevailing winds affecting Zimbabwe have an easterly direction.
 Most notable are these are the South East Trade Winds which blow from the Indian
Ocean.
A map showing the major winds of Southern Africa

South East Trade winds

 A trade wind is a wind that blows from one region to another.

 The South East Trade brings drizzle and light showers.
 They cause cloudy conditions in winter and clear weather in summer.
 Zaire/Congo air otherwise known as the South West Trade Winds
 The winds come from the Atlantic Ocean (west of Zimbabwe) towards
 Angola and Namibia and divert from Zambia to Zimbabwe.
 They come into Zimbabwe via Angola, DRC (formerly Zaire hence the alternative name
of the air mass) and Zambia due to the intense low pressure region created by the ITCZ
during the summer months in the southern hemisphere.
 They absorb a lot of moisture from the Zaire Basin and forests.
 They are extremely moist by the time they reach Zimbabwe.
 They bring in a lot of rainfall especially to the northern parts of Zimbabwe.
 They are associated with a lot of continuous rain which might result in flooding or crop
destruction due to rotting.

North East Monsoon

 A monsoon is a seasonal wind.

 The N.E Monsoons blow during the summer and bring rainfall in the northern parts of
Zimbabwe during the months of December and January.

Ocean Currents

 In addition to the above winds there are ocean currents in Southern

 Africa that affect bot weather and climate as well as human activities.
  A map showing ocean currents in Southern Africa.

1. The Warm Mozambican current.

 An ocean is a continued flow of ocean water.

 The Warm Mozambican current flows parallel to the coast of Mozambique and the
Island of Mozambique.

2. The Agulhas current.

 Flows parallel to the coast of Mozambique.

 Is made up of the Mozambique current and the East Madagascar current.

3. Benguela current

 Flows along the coast of Mozambique

4. Angola Current

 Flows along the coast of Angola

Rain Shadow Effect

 We have already looked at the formation of relief rainfall elsewhere.

 The diagram below shows the formation of relief rainfall and the resulting rain-shadow
effect.

Rain-shadow Effect.

 As the air descends it becomes drier and warm

 This results in semi-arid conditions.
  Examples of such places include Bocha/Marange and Save valley.
 Zimbabwe’s mountain ranges including Mt Inyangani and the
 Chimanimani Mountains are located to the east of the country.
 They force the Easterly winds to rise as they impede the wind’s path.
 These winds carry moisture from the Indian Ocean after blowing across the warm
Mozambique current.
 The air is forced to rise condenses and relief rain is formed.
 Most of the rainfall falls on the windward/eastern slopes of the mountains.
 Little to no rainfall falls on the leeward slopes and valley.

Rainfall patterns of Zimbabwe.

 As the rainfall map above clearly shows most of the rainfall in Zimbabwe falls within the
vicinity of Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands range
 As said this is because the mountains impede the flow of the air, force it to rise thus
resulting in relief rainfall.
 The amount of rainfall decreases as one moves to the west.
 Mountains thus block precipitation from happening on the leeward side.

Fronts
Weather on a Front.

 A front is a boundary between two air masses. Fronts are classified and named
according to which air mass is replacing the other.

Warm Front

A warm front:

Side view of a warm front. Image by Climate and weather.

 Occurs when warm air is displacing cold air i.e. cold air is receding.
 The air behind a warm front is warm and moist, while the air ahead of a warm front is
cooler and less moist.
 Similar to the cold front, there will a shift in wind direction as the front passes and a
change in pressure tendency.
 Warm fronts have a gentler slope than cold fronts, which often leads to a gradual rise
of air.
  This gradual rise of air favours the development of widespread, continuous precipitation,
which often occurs along and ahead of the front.
 Although they can trigger thunderstorms, warm fronts are more likely to be associated
with large regions of gentle ascent (strati form clouds and light to moderate continuous
rain).
 Warm fronts are associated with a frontal inversion (warm air overrunning cooler air).
 Warm fronts are represented on a weather map by a solid red line with semi-circles
pointing in the direction of its movement as pictured above.

Cold Front

Cold Front
Another side view of a cold front

 A front is called a cold front if the cold air mass is displacing the warm air mass.
 The air behind a cold front is colder and typically drier than the air ahead of it, which
is generally warm and moist.
 There is typically a shift in wind direction as the front passes, along with a change in
pressure tendency (pressure falls prior to the front arriving and rises after it passes).
 Cold fronts tend to be associated with cirrus well ahead of the front, strong thunderstorms
along and ahead of the front, and a broad area of clouds immediately behind the front.
 Cold fronts usually bring cooler weather, clearing skies, and a sharp change in wind
direction.
 Cold fronts can be associated with squall lines.
 Cold fronts have a steep slope, which causes air to be forced upward along its leading
edge.
 This is why there is sometimes a band of showers and/or thunderstorms that line up along
the leading edge of the cold front.
 Cold fronts are represented on a weather map by a solid blue line with triangles
pointing in the direction of its movement as pictured above.

Occluded Front

Diagrams showing the formation of an occluded front:

  Fast cold front catches up with a slow warm front to form an occluded front.
 The diagram shows a fast cold front catching up with a slow warm front to create an
occluded front.

Occluded Front

 Generally, cold fronts move faster than warm fronts.

 Sometimes in a storm system the cold front will “catch up” to the warm front.
  An occluded front forms as the cold air behind the cold front meets the cold air ahead
of the warm front.
 Whichever air mass is the coldest undercuts the other.
 The boundary between the two cold air masses is called an occluded front.
 Occluded fronts are represented on weather maps by a solid purple line with alternating
triangles and semi-circles, pointing in the direction of its movement as pictured above.
 Occluded fronts are linked with areas of low pressure called depressions.

Anticyclones

 Pictures showing wind direction in an anti-cyclone (right) in both the southern and northern
hemisphere

Features of anticyclones

 These are areas of high pressure at the centre.

 Air is sinking in the midst not rising which means no rain or clouds are formed because
as the air descends and warms it can hold more moisture thus reducing its humidity.
 They have small pressure gradients i.e. the pressure from the centre decreases
gradually.
 This results in gentle winds.
  The winds blow away from the centre which has the highest pressure in an outward
direction i.e. from the High pressure to the lower pressure regions.
 Wind movement/deflection depends on whether the anticyclone is in the northern or
southern hemisphere.
 In the northern hemisphere- the winds blow in a clockwise direction.
 In the southern hemisphere- the winds blow in an anti-clockwise direction.

Weather associated with anticyclones.

 Low/little or no rainfall.
 Clear skies.
 Low humidity.
 Low wind speed because the air will be dense.
 High pressure.
 Low temperature.
 Stratus clouds.
 Fogs/mist. Fog is found in highland areas and mist in lowland areas.
 In winter frost may form at night

DEPRESSION

Characteristics

 This is an area of low pressure whose shape on a map is oval or circular.

 It is represented by closed isobars with the lowest pressure at the centre.
  The air within the depression circulates in an anti-clockwise direction in the northern
hemisphere and clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere.
 The winds blow towards the centre.
 They develop in the temperate latitudes.
 Depressions are rarely stationary and move in a generally easterly direction as shown
above.
 They vary in sizes but all of them are associated with unsettled weather with overcast
skies and periods of continuous rain.
 The rain is caused when warm and moist tropical air is uplifted by the cold drier polar
air.
 They are also known as extra-tropical cyclones or “lows”.

Isobars showing a Depression on a map

Commons

Formation of depressions

 They are formed in the temperate latitudes (i.e. 60° N and 60°S) when humid tropical
air meets cold polar air.
 Westerly winds meet polar winds.
 The zone were these two different currents meet is called the polar front.
 It is in this zone where depressions are formed.

Stages in the formation of a depression.

1. Embryo stage.

 The first stage is known as the embryo stage.

 Cold air moves in a general westerly direction along the polar front.
 Warm tropical air moves in a generally easterly direction.
 The frictional effects of the two air flows causes a wave to develop in the front as shown.

2. Mature depression

 In a mature depression the cold front starts to catch up with the warm front.
 The wave bulges into the colder air and gets larger.
 Pressure falls at the tip of the wave and due to the Coriolis force the wind blows around
the low pressure point in clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere and anti-
clockwise in the northern hemisphere.
 As the bulge described above develops, the warm air rises up over the colder air at the
front of the bulge.
 This front is called the warm front.
 At the rear of the cold air forces its way under the warm air.
 The rear is called the warm front.
  The result is what is shown in the first diagram above.
 A cold front at the rear and a warm front at the fore.

Weather associated with depression.

 The first diagram above shows a cross section of a depression and weather associated
with their passage.
 Whenever you are asked to describe the weather associated with depressions in an
exam it is always a good idea to draw a labelled diagram like this one first before
using words to describe the relevant weather patterns.

The weather associated with the passage of a depression is as follows.

1. Passage of the warm front: Clear weather with a few high cirrus clouds. Winds will blow from
the SE for a while. As cloud cover grows light shows begin and these grow heavier.

2. The warm sector -the warm sector is the area between the two fronts when it approaches and
passes a place the rain stops, the weather clears, temperatures rise, the air is humid and the
wind changes from SE to SW.

3. Passage of the cold front- The weather changes rapidly as the cold front passes, the wind
blows from the NW, temperature falls, there is heavy rain and thunderstorms, with cumulonimbus
clouds.

4. Passage of the depression- the sky clears and the temperature remains cool.

Cyclones

The formation of a cyclone.

Features of a cyclone.

 These are systems of intense low pressure.

 There are sometimes known as hurricanes (the U.S and the American continents) and
typhoons (in Asian countries).
 On a map the isobars used to show a cyclone form a circular shape.
 They have the lowest pressure at the centre.
 Strong winds blow into the centre of the cyclone.
 These are deflected into an anti-clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and
clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere.
 They rush upwards with a great force creating a vortex which is the area that surrounds
the eye of the cyclone.
 The rapidly rising air gives rise to torrential rains and the strong winds cause
considerable damage to infrastructure, crops and vegetation.
 They occur in the tropics latitudes 5° and 20° South and North of the equator.
 They occur in autumn when sea temperatures are at their highest.
 Thus they occur around February and March in the southern hemisphere and August and
September in the northern hemisphere.
 They form over warm oceans where sea temperatures exceed 26°C and where there is
a considerable depth of warm water.
 Examples of tropical cyclones that have affected Zimbabwe over recent years are
Cyclone Eline, Cyclone Japhet and Cyclone Gamede.
 Pictures showing wind direction in cyclone (left) and anti-cyclone (right) in both the
southern and northern hemisphere.
The structure of a cyclone

A cyclone has 3 sections namely:

1. The front vortwindex (violent wind, dense clouds, thunderstorms).

2. The eye (calm and clear).

3. The rear vortex (violent winds, dense clouds, thunderstorms)

The development of cyclones

 Tropical cyclones tend to develop:

1. Over warm tropical oceans, where sea temperatures exceed 26°C and where there is a
considerable depth of warm water.

2. In autumn when sea temperatures are at their highest.

3. In the trade wind belt, where the surface winds warm as they blow towards the Equator.

4. Between latitudes 5°-20° North and South of the equator since the Coriolis force is insufficient
to enable the “spin” needed for their formation nearer the equator.

 Tropical cyclones develop along the inter-tropical front where the air masses brought
by the northerly and southerly trade winds meet.
 They form over oceans because air masses that which have travelled over oceans have
warm and moist lower layers while the upper layers are cooler and drier.
 When such two air masses meet one is lifted above the other.
 The rising air cools and its moisture condenses to produce heavy rainfall.
 Latent heat is set free by the condensation and it is this energy that allows the cyclone
to rotate.
 Tropical cyclones move in a general western direction.
 They follow erratic courses that are hard to predict.
 On reaching land their energy quickly dissipates and
 They die out gradually as their supply of warm moist air is cut off.
 For a cyclone to form there must also be an abundant source of warm, moist air of
temperatures around 27°C near to the sea/ocean surface.
 The air must be blowing inwards and rising rapidly to great heights to give cloud of
great vertical extent (e.g. cumulonimbus) capable of producing torrential rainfall.
 There must be an outward flow of air at the upper levels.
 A cyclone is funnel shaped as shown in the first diagram above.
Why cyclones originate over seas

 There is a constant supply of moist air of about 27°C.

 Seas have minimal friction, friction kills cyclones.

The weather associated with a cyclone.

 Prior to its arrival the air becomes very still, temperature and humidity are high.
 As the front of the vortex arrives, gusty winds develop and thick clouds appear.
 When the vortex arrives, the winds become violent due to upward surges and can reach
very high speeds of around 250 Km/hr.
 Dense clouds and torrential rainfall occurs with visibility reduced to only a few metres.
 Calm conditions return as the eye arrives and passes.
 The arrival of the rear vortex brings violent winds, dense clouds and heavy rain. The
wind now blows in a direction opposite to that of the front of the front vortex.

Effects and Impact of cyclones.

 In the examination students are typically asked to provide the effects of cyclones. You
should know that the effects of all cyclones are generally the same. Often times in a bid
to mess with your head examiners might ask you to provide the effects of a given cyclone
by name.
 You should never really worry about the name of the cyclone as we have already
pointed out the effects are invariably the same even though the severity of the damage
is usually proportional to the size and course of the cyclone.
 Heavy rainfall and landslides, rockfalls and mudslides.
 Destruction of infrastructure such as houses, dams, oil rigs and coastal installations.
 Destruction of civic infrastructure for example small bridges might be washed away.
 Blockage of roads and destruction of power transmission lines due to falling trees.
 Crop damage due to excessive rains.
 Destruction of communication lines and cell phone towers.
 Death’s due to lightning strikes.

Mitigation of damage.

 Cyclones are a natural hazards and therefore cannot be stopped from occurring or be
simply wished away. People and authorities can however work on mitigating/lessening
the impact/damage of cyclones.

1. Accurate weather forecast and satellite imaging to see developing cyclones in advance.
2. Create an early warning system that can quickly disseminate information to the areas that
are likely going to be affected.

3. Evacuating people from the affected areas to high lying areas, areas that are less likely to
be affected by landslides and away from flood plains.

4. Construction of stronger houses that can withstand the impact of heavy rains and winds.

5. Planting trees such as eucalyptus to create wind breaks.

6. Well organised rescue and relief efforts to help those in affected areas this might involve the
use of vertical take-off planes such as helicopters.

7. Providing tents for the homeless.

8. Providing safe drinking water to those affected.

9. Policing of affected areas to prevent looting and lawlessness.

10. Agriculture and building insurance should be used to lessen the economic impact of the
cyclones.

Land and Sea breezes

Land and Sea breezes occur along coastal areas such as beaches.

 As the name clearly suggests these breezes occur along coastal areas or along large
lakes and water bodies.
 A breeze is a cool and calm wind.
 There arise as a result of differential heating and cooling between land and adjacent
sea areas during the day and at night.
  The resultant pressure differences produce gentle breezes which affect coastal areas
during calm clear anticyclonic conditions.

Sea breeze

Sea breeze

 It occurs during the day.

 The land heats up quickly by conduction and air rises.
 The air moves towards the sea and falls since it is denser.
 The air creates an area of high pressure over the sea while the land has low pressure
since it is hotter when compared to the ocean’s surface.
 The sea absorbs heat more slowly during the day and transmits it to greater depth so it
remains cool.
 A cool sea breeze moves from the sea towards the land.
 The sea breeze is capable of reducing temperatures by as much as 15°C along coastal
areas and may produce fogs.

Land breeze
Land breezes occur at night.

 At night the reverse happens.

 Land quickly loses its heat while the ocean cools at a slower rate because water has a
higher specific heat capacity.
 This means air over the water is less dense and begins to rise creating low pressure
above the ocean’s surface.
 Cooler dense air from the land begins to move to the water surface to replace the warm
rising air.
 A cool gentle breeze blows towards the ocean.
 This is called a land breeze.

Weather Symbols and Synoptic Charts

 After weather measurements have been taken at weather stations they are then plotted
onto synoptic charts.
 These charts make use of special symbols as a form of pre-agreed shorthand that is
used to show the weather conditions at a given place at a given time.
 A synoptic chart is any map that summarizes atmospheric conditions.
 It shows temperature, precipitation, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure and
cloud coverage over a large area on a given day for example Harare.
 By combining the information over a wide area and plotting it onto a map,
meteorologists can observe the behaviour and movement of weather formations that
might affect their local area in the future.
 There are many different types of weather map, all drawn using internationally agreed
standards and using accepted symbols.
Synoptic Chart Symbols.

 You should familiarize yourself with these symbols as question will most certainly come
in the exam asking you to describe the weather patterns shown on maps using these
symbols.

People and Weather

 The earth’s climate and weather conditions have been changing constantly throughout
the earth’s Geological Timescale.
 This has in turn had an impact on people’s cultures, history and current economic and
social activities.
 For example people migrated from the African continent to other continents over ice
sheets which have since disappeared over time due to an increase in global
temperatures.
 Coal developed in Hwange because there once thrived a large forests over the area
during pluvial periods.
 Weather impacts our physical well-being (hot humid weather such as in rain forests, is
enervating while cold weather such as that found in Siberia can even be fatal owing to
hypothermia. Meanwhile the dry hot air in deserts is likely to lead to dehydration which
can also be fatal.)

How people have changed weather?

 People have been changing weather deliberately and unintentionally since time
immemorial.
 Deliberate changes can be seen as an attempt to aid agriculture such as green houses
to protect from frost, increasing local supplies of rain, dam constructions etc.
 Accidental changes that are largely detrimental for example Acid rain, global warming
and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
 An example of how people sometimes comprehensively influence the weather of a place
due to their activities are Urban Islands.
  Greenhouses are used to grow crops like tomatoes in areas that suffer from frost or
during winter.

People and Weather: Deliberate Changes

Greenhouses

 These are used to grow plants that are susceptible to frost during frosty conditions.
 They create a micro-climate.
 They are made up of glass or a thin layer of polythene usually coloured green hence
their name.
 Short UV waves from the sun can pass through the glass/ plastic.
 When these heat the ground they are converted into longer infra-red waves (heat) which
cannot pass through the plastic.
 The result is that greenhouses are warmer than the surrounding areas.
How a greenhouse works

 Other methods used to protect crops from frost heating the lower layers of the soil using
either primitive oil fired “smudge pots” or modern gas or electrically powered frost
prevention heaters.
 Covering the crops using a thin layer of polythene for example growing tunnels also
known as polythene tunnels.
 Spraying the crops with water which acts as an insulator although the efficacy of this
method is doubtful at best and it is useless against extreme frost/cold.
 Blowing air around the fields in order to mix the cold layers of air below with the warmer
lays above.

Cloud seeding

A cloud seeding plane

 Not all condensation leads to precipitation sometimes due to the lack of condensation
nuclei in the atmosphere.
 Cloud seeding less well known as rain making involves the injection of silver iodide or
dry ice into clouds.
 In a natural process the clouds would have been provided with materials like soot, dust,
sea salt, volcanic ash and ice to use as nuclei.
 Silver iodide or dried is sprayed into likely looking clouds in a bid to spur precipitation.
 The clouds’ droplets grow bigger around the introduced nuclei and eventually fall as
rain.
 The success of cloud seeding depends on the clouds being seeded.
 Arguments have been made that in most cases rain would have eventually fallen from
the seeded clouds.
  There have also been allegations of “rain stealing” where people contend that a seeded
cloud would have taken its rain elsewhere (usually neighbouring areas) where rain would
have fallen were it not for the interference of cloud seeding.

How cloud seeding works.

Dam construction

Mini “Tornado” over Lake Victoria. Image by National

Geographic.

Dams can change weather conditions in the vicinity by creating a humidity and precipitation.

The areas surrounding Lake Kariba receive more precipitation when compared further areas
ever since the dam was constructed.

 Lake shore breezes not unlike Sea and Land breezes also occur around the Lake.
 Areas around the Lake are generally cooler and the diurnal temperature range smaller
than that of areas further from the Lake.
 Research has also shown that Lakes can cause freak rain storms for exam water spouts
/mini tornadoes sometimes occur on and around the Lake.
 The effects of Acid Rain on a forest in the Czech

Accidental Changes

Acid Rain
 The smoke from burning fuels and chemical industries rises into the air and mixes with
water vapour.
  When the rain falls down it becomes acidic.
 The acid rain is a weak acid made up of sulphuric and nitric acids.
 Over, a long time (years for example), the rain eats into limestone installations as well
as natural landscapes, stone walks, statues and metals.
 It also destroys vegetation as it has done to entire forests in the Eastern countries like
the Black Forest in Germany.
 Has negatively impacted on tree growth in Scandinavian countries.
 Since acids accrue in water they poses a health risk to humans and animals.

How Acid Rain is formed.

Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming

Global Warming is caused by the Greenhouse effect.

Due an increasingly industrialized world a lot of Carbon

 Dioxide is being emitted into the atmosphere from industries, motor vehicles, machinery
and other human activities.
 The solar irradiation from the sun comes mainly in the form of short UV radiation (light).
 These is converted into longer infra-red waves (heat) when it reaches the earth’s surface.
 Some of the heat is radiated back into the atmosphere by the earth’s surface.
 Due to increased carbon emissions the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has
increased.
 This layer of Carbon Dioxide has an insular effect, it acts as a blanket preventing the
longer waved infra-red waves from escaping back into space.
 The result is a general increase in the world’s mean temperatures.
 This is known as global warming.
 The effects of global warming include a general increase in mean temperatures in some
places, the melting of Polar ice resulting in sea level changes: this leads to flooding in
low lying coastal areas, destruction of Polar ecosystems, persistent droughts in some
areas, flooding and mudslides due to excessive rain in other areas for example
Indonesia, freak weather storms and increasingly unpredictable weather, droughts and
increased aridity in some areas.
 The effects of global warming are being compounded by deforestation.

NB The school of thought that attributed Global Warming to naturally occurring Solar flares has
since been continuously shown as there is no evidence to support their theory. It is continually
peddled by those in the vested Industries like Oil and developed nations like the US who fear
the effects of governmental corrective actions on their businesses. As with the very clear harmful
effects of smoking, it will eventually become a clear fact that global warming is real claiming
that global warming is a myth is quackery science that you as a Geography student must not
subscribe to.

Deforestation
Deforestation.

 Is the cutting down of trees without replacing them i.e. without reforesting.
 The high demand for timber, wood and land cultivation has led to the continuous
clearance of forests.
 This reduces the humidity in the atmosphere and subsequently rainfall with long term
effects of climate change and desertification.
 Deforestation also reduces the amount of trees which convert carbon dioxide back into
oxygen resulting in a retrogression on the speed of global warming.

Ozone layer depletion

Ozone Layer depletion and its effects

 In the upper layers of the earth’s atmosphere (between the stratosphere and the
troposphere) there is a layer known as the Ozone Layer.
 It is composed of special bonds of Oxygen (O3) and about 30 km from the earth’s
surface.
 It acts a shield by blocking out the sun’s dangerous UV radiation from reaching the earth.
 It is being depleted by chemicals from factories and some antiquated forms of aerosol
sprays.
 These make emissions containing nitrous oxide compounds, bromine and chlorine
compounds.
 These chemicals are often referred to as organohalogen, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
and Bromoflurocarbons.
 They are depleting/reducing the Ozone layer by chemically breaking it down.
 This has resulted in Ozone holes in some places.
  This results in higher cases of non-melanoma skin cancer, eye cataracts and blindness
and weakening of human immune systems (immunosuppression) to people living
underneath these Ozone holes.
 Other effects include: reduced plant growth harming agricultural activities as well as
natural vegetation, reduction in plankton populations (these is the major source of food
for most fish and features prominently in marine ecosystems), loss of marine biodiversity,
higher incidents of cancer in domestic animals, adverse effects on flowering and
pollination of plants and damage to important synthetic materials like plastics and
rubber.
 To read and learn about the Urban Heat Islands follow the link.
 The Urban Heat islands are a unique example of how humans comprehensively and un-
intentionally affect weather.

Urban Heat Island

The diagram shows typical temperature differences between an urban area and the adjacent
rural area.

 Due to a number of reasons the climate and weather of urban areas is different from
the adjacent rural areas.

Temperature

 Although due to the presence of tall buildings light does not reach some areas especially
alleyways and narrow streets, Normal buildings absorb heat during the day.
  Dark-coloured roofs, concrete blocks and bricks all have a high thermal capacity which
means they are capable of absorbing heat energy during the day and releasing it
slowly at night.
 Additional heat is yielded by car fumes, factories, power stations and the high
population concert rations of people.
 All things being equal urban build up areas experience higher temperatures which is
highest in the CBD and decreases gradually as one goes towards the edges.
 Daylight temperatures are on average higher than surrounding areas generally by
about 0.6°C.
 Night temperatures are higher than surrounding areas due to the smoke and dust clouds
over the city/town creating a blanket/insular effect.
 The mean winter temperature is also significantly higher as well as the summer
temperature which might be as much as 5°C higher.

Sunlight

 Even though their temperature is higher cities and towns receive less sunshine and more
cloud cover than their adjacent rural areas.
 Dust and other particles over the build-up area absorb and reflect much of the sunlight
preventing it from reaching the city/town below.

Wind

 Wind velocity is reduced by the buildings which create friction as well as act as
windbreaks.
 Urban wind velocities are typically lower than that of surrounding rural areas.
 Sometimes however high rise building create wind tunnels which have streams of very
high velocity winds which trouble pedestrians and can sometimes knock them over.
 There is reduced wind chill factor.
 Small scale turbulence and eddies can occur as a result in temperature differences with
adjacent rural areas.

Relative Humidity

 Relative humidity is lower in urban areas where the warmer air can hold more moisture
and there is lack of vegetation reducing the amount of evapotranspiration.

Clouds

 Urban areas appear to receive thicker and up to 10% more frequent clouds.
Precipitation

 Towns and cities receive more rains and thunderstorms.

 This is a result of thermal currents within urban areas.
 Also greater chances of rain, snow and sleet in urban areas.

Weather Hazards

 Weather hazards are conditions which are unfavourable to people and their activities
that result from weather phenomena.
 There are many types of Weather Hazards and most cannot be prevented although
their effects can be mitigated.

Common hazards include:

Floods

 Are caused by excessive precipitation over a short period of time. They are associated
with weather phenomena like cyclones and depressions as well as thunderstorms.

Lightning

 Lightning is made up of huge static discharges that are a result of differences in charge
between the ground and clouds.
 Sometimes lightning occurs between two clouds with different charges.

Drought

 Drought refers to a phenomena where an area experiences a deficiency in its water

supply in terms of precipitation (rain and snow). This results in a shortage of ground,
surface and atmospheric water supply.

Frost/Snow and Hail

 Snow is caused by a sudden drop in temperature. This might affect things like air travel
where it may be necessary to ground flights causing delays and substantial economic
loss to affected parties e.g. airlines and cargo companies

Weather Hazards: Floods.

 Some parts of Zimbabwe especially low lying areas like Muzarabani.

  The Tokwe-Mukosi area near Masvingo experienced severe floods in the 2014/15 rain
season leaving a lot of homes destroyed and people homeless, destruction of livestock
and crops.
 Large parts of Mozambique and Eastern areas of Zimbabwe are also often affected
by floods due to frequent torrential rains in summer
 These areas are usually bear the worst brunt of violent cyclones which originate from
the East coast of Madagascar for example Cyclone Eline in 2000. In addition to
flooding, these cyclones are often accompanied by violent winds. Worsening the
damage they cause.
 Major parts of Cape Town are also affected by floods on an almost annual basis. In
late December 2014 large parts of Cape Town were hit by floods with roads, houses,
bridges, buildings and other infrastructure destroyed.

Causes of floods

Floods can be caused by a number of reasons:

1. Unusually high rainfall over short periods of time. For example in the Tokwe-Mukosi case the
whole country and the area in particular received incessant rainfall for days on end with barely
any breaks in the downpour.

2. Deforestation which increases the amount of surface runoff.

3. Silt and sand deposition which reduces river depth and width.

4. Increased water flow resulting from many tributaries.

5. Low lying areas especially along coastal areas where Tsunamis and tidal wave flooding can
occur.

6. Melting of ice especially exacerbated by global warming.

7. Stream-bank cultivation resulting in increased surface runoff and siltation especially in urban
areas.

8. Continuous creations of concrete pavements as in cities like Harare greatly increases the
amount of surface runoff.

Mitigation of the effects of floods

 Widening and deepening of river channels using earth moving machinery so that they
can hold more water.
  Straightening the river course so as to reduce friction and thus accelerating river flow.
 Building wider bridges with higher arches to prevent bridges from becoming de facto
weirs during the summer months.
 Planting trees/vegetation along valley sides to encourage seepage and reduce surface
runoff.
 Building embankments alongside rivers to restrict water to the river channel.
 Diverting river courses away from human settlements.
 Building dams across rivers to hold excess water. This is the usual preferred method as
it solves two problems at once i.e. the water can be used in the dry months for domestic
and agricultural uses as well as hydroelectric generation. For example the building of
the Kariba and Cahora Bassa blessed the flooding downstream and provide
employment in the form the fish industries, produce Hydro-Electricity and water for
agriculture activities.
 Use early warning flood systems so that people can be quickly evacuated.
 Discourage settlements of low lying flood prone areas.
 Provide relief and rescue to affected victims.

Lightning

 Is typically caused by the physical characteristics of cumulonimbus weather conditions.

 As rain drops fall the energy which they have causes a positive charge to develop at
the top of a cloud and negative charges to develop at its base.
 The earth becomes negatively charged.
  Lightning, which simply flashes of electricity, moves from the top of the cloud to the
bottom of the cloud and from.
 It also occurs from the bottom of the cloud to the ground.
 Also as water droplets and ice crystals in clouds fall and collide with one another,
especially in super-cooled water vapour, they form like charges from which flashes of
electricity move from part/cloud to another part/cloud with a different charge.
 Due to the last process outlined above most lightning flashes occur within and between
clouds.

Thunder

 It is caused when a lightning flash suddenly heats and expands the surrounding air during
discharge causing booming sound-waves.
 Because the speed of sound is much less than that of light observer who is at a distance
sees the flash well before they hear the noise.

Dangers of Lightning

 In Zimbabwe and other tropical countries a lot of people die from lightning strikes.
 Usually lightning strikes the tallest conducting item as it seeks the quickest way to reach
the ground.
 In empty places where there are not trees or buildings standing human beings become
likely targets.
 Lightning also causes electrical surges in power grids which might damage unprotected
electrical gadgets if they are plugged in and switched off.
 Can damage buildings especially in rural areas where there are relatively few build up
places and buildings present the tallest conductors.
Mitigating the dangers of lighting.

 Protect your home using a lightning conductor see below.

 Wear rubber shoes when going out during thunderstorms.
 Take shelter from lightning under a group of shorter trees, taking shelter under the lone
tree or the tallest tree(s) will make you a likely target.
 Stay inside a car or bus.
 Do not use electrical gadgets.
 Do not take a bath or shower as some installations e.g.
 ZESA use electrical pipes to “earth” household electrical circuits.
 Do not walk on higher grounds/hills/mounds/open spaces during a thunderstorm.
 Do not walk through water puddles a nearby lightning strike might be conducted through
the water.
 Do not carry metal objects like pails on your head during thunderstorms.
 Do not touch metal objects like fences during a thunderstorms
 Do not wash dishes in metal sinks during the storm or touch the kitchen faucet.
 Do not carry sharp spiked metal objects like garden forks outside during a storm.

Lightning Conductor

Weather Hazards: Drought

 In general terms drought is caused by a general shortage of precipitation over an

extended period of time usually the rain season resulting in water shortages for both
human and natural activities.
 A more formal definition of defines drought as a protracted period of deficient
precipitation resulting in extensive damage to crops, resulting in loss of yield.
  Droughts are often associated, but should not be confused with, famine which is an
extreme shortage of food for part or most of the population.
 Droughts are a naturally occurring phenomena.
 Zimbabwe and Southern Africa often experiences cyclical droughts for example 1800-
1830s, 1844-49, 1981-2, and 1992 and in some parts during 2002. Generally a
drought occurs at least once every decade although they may be becoming more
frequent due to Global Warming.
 Areas in Matabeleland which generally receive less rain as they are further inland often
suffer the severest droughts and more frequently even during times when the rest of the
current receives normal rainfall.
 Countries in Northern Africa especially western African countries like Somalia and
Ethiopia have more frequent droughts some of which last for years.
 Droughts have also been attributed to climate change.

Causes

 Although many theories have been put forth to explain the cause of droughts not much
is known.
 The most dominant theory is the El Nino effect with some experts even linking droughts
to volcanic eruptions.
 El Nino is a band of water whose temperatures hardly changes for long periods of time
that is found on the Western coast of the South American continent.
 The warming up of these waters is known in the local Spanish language as El Nino (the
Child in reference to baby Jesus as it tends to occur around Christmas).
 The cooling of these waters is known as the La Nina (Little Girl).
 Both phases are known as the El Nino Southern Oscillation Cycle (ENSO)
 During an ENSO the waters in the Pacific Ocean get warmer.
 Normal airflow moves westward from the Pacific to the
 Indian Ocean, but during El Nino this movement is weakened or altered.
 This results in high rainfall in some parts of Latin America but low rainfall and even
drought in southern Africa.
 During the 1991-1992 drought El Nino lasted until the end of February 1992.
 During a La Nina Zimbabwe receives extremely large amounts of rainfall.

Human causes

 Although droughts are a natural phenomenon human actions may worsen their effects:
  Rapid population growth resulting in increased pressure on natural resources including
water.
 Deforestation.
 Soil erosion.
 Overgrazing.
 Mono-culture.
 Falling water tables due to ground water being used for domestic and agricultural
activities.
 Build-up of salts also known as salination has destroyed a lot of land making it toxic to
plants.

Effects

 Crops wilt and there may be a significant reduction in yields.

 Sometimes crops fail altogether.
 Animals die from dehydration and shortage of pastures.
 Shortage of drinking water
 Dust storms.
 Death of people due to dehydration and starvation.
 Malnutrition and associated conditions like Kwashiorkor these are more pronounced in
children.
 Poverty due to loss of livelihood.

Famine

 Crops can become toxic due to an increase in aflatoxins especially to animals.

 Can lead to nitrate poisoning in animals which are fed drought affected crops such as
maize.
 Wild fires become more frequent.

Mitigation

 Farmers can make use of insurance schemes.

 Stockpiling essential food crops in years of high yields using for example GMB silo
storage.
 Practice irrigation using river and ground water.

Cloud seeding

 Grow drought resistant crops and keeping drought resistant animals like donkeys.
  Grow early maturing crops.
 Appeal for aid from International organisations such as the UN, USAID, Oxfam, Save
the Child etc.
 Find alternative uses for drought damaged crops for example drought affected soya
beans can be used to feed cattle.

Frost/Snow and Hail.

Snow/Frost

 Caused by a sudden fall or drop in temperature.

 With snow ice crystals are formed in the atmosphere.
 When these small ice crystals collide with one another they stick together in the clouds
to become snowflakes.
 When they become heavy enough to overcome updrafts they fall to the ground as snow.
 Temperatures need not be below 0°C for snow to fall, in fact in most places most of the
snow falls when temperatures are between 0°C and 2°C.
 With frost condensation occurs typically overnight.
 Water droplets are deposited onto surfaces of objects and vegetation.
 As temperatures continue to fall the water droplets are transformed into a layer of ice
on these objects.
 Snow does not occur in Zimbabwe although it occurs in the lower latitude areas of South
Africa. It rarely snows in Johannesburg.

Effects of snow or blizzards.

 Flights are grounded in cases of extreme snow/ snowstorms (these are called blizzards)
 Entertainment events that take place outdoors like football, baseball, cricket etc. have
to be cancelled.
 Buildings and equipment can be buried making them inaccessible.
 Excessive snow build up has been known to cause buildings such as barns to collapse
killing occupants.
 Roads are blocked.
 Roads become slippery and difficult to navigate leading to accidents, pile ups and
congestion.
 Vegetation and crops are destroyed.
 Deaths due to accidents and direct hypothermia and pneumonias.
Solutions

 Growing crops in green houses

 Spray crops with warm water jets or blowing air so it gets mixed with the warmer upper
layers.
 Using smudge pots to heat orchards and fields.
 Covering plants with plastics that trap sunlight inside.
 Growing crops in high tunnels.
 Clearing snow from roads using heavy machinery on a frequent and regular basis.
 Using rock salt to clear roads and to prevent snow build up.
 Use special winter tires on vehicles; these have a better grip as normal tire treads are
ineffective in snow conditions.
 Using heating systems in homes.
 These heating systems can be made more effective by using insulating materials on
homes.

N.B Frosts normally affects agriculture. It kills important food crops such as potatoes and
tomatoes which tend to be susceptible to frost. It can also lead to frost bite in humans and even
death due to hypothermia in extreme cases. In addition to the measures against snow above
people can wear warm clothes and gloves to mitigate the effects.

Hail

 A solid form of precipitation.

 Involves solid ice balls falling from the sky instead of rain drops.
 When it is mixed with water, precipitation it is called sleet.
 The effects of sleet and hail are the same.

Effects

Hail does extensive damage to crops especially Tobacco whose quality is greatly affected by
such things as leaf size.

Solutions

 Growing crops in sheltered places as in a greenhouse although this quickly gets

expensive especially if the hectare is large.
 Agricultural shade cloth such as the one pictured below is often used especially with pot.
 Farmers should make use of insurance schemes to lessen the financial impact.