Syeda Faiza Mansoor

Heat Wave

Definition:

A heat wave is a period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather.

 The World Meteorological Organization is specific in its definition by stating that a

heat wave is when the daily maximum temperature for more than five consecutive
days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 9 degrees.
 A formal, peer-reviewed definition from the Glossary of Meteorology is:[4]
o A period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather.
To be a heat wave such a period should last at least one day, but
conventionally it lasts from several days to several weeks. In 1900, A. T.
Burrows more rigidly defined a “hot wave” as a spell of three or more days
on each of which the maximum shade temperature reaches or exceeds 90 °F
(32.2 °C). More realistically, the comfort criteria for any one region are
dependent upon the normal conditions of that area.

A heat wave is considered extreme weather and a danger because heat and sunlight may
overheat the human body. Heat waves can usually be detected using forecasting
instruments so that a warning call can be issued.

Regions that are more susceptible to heat waves include:

 Inland deserts
 Semi deserts
 and Mediterranean-type climates

Formation:

Heat waves form when high pressure aloft (from 10,000–25,000 feet (3,000–7,600 metres))
strengthens and remains over a region for several days up to several weeks. This is common
in summer (in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres) as the jet stream 'follows the sun'.
On the equator side of the jet stream, in the upper layers of the atmosphere, is the high
pressure area.
 Syeda Faiza Mansoor

Summertime weather patterns are generally slower to change than in winter. As a result,
this upper level high pressure also moves slowly. Under high pressure, the air subsides
(sinks) toward the surface, warming and drying adiabatically. This warmer sinking air creates
a high level inversion that acts as a dome capping the atmosphere, inhibiting convection,
thereby trapping high humidity warm air below it. Typically, convection is present along the
periphery of the cap where the pressure becomes less. This peripheral convection, however,
can add to the high pressure dome by ventilating the upper level outflow of the
thunderstorms into it. The end result is a continual build-up of heat at the surface that
people experience as a heat wave.

Reasons

Heat waves are caused by a strong high pressure settling in at 10,000-25,000 ft. and refusing
to move. This causes warm air to sink. The result is a dome of hot air that traps the heat
near the ground and prevents cooling convection currents from forming clouds.

Moreover the Earth's temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and
leaving the planet’s system. When incoming energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth
system, Earth warms. When the sun’s energy is reflected back into space, Earth avoids
warming. When absorbed energy is released back into space, Earth cools. Many factors,
both natural and human, can cause changes in Earth’s energy balance, including:

 Variations in the sun's energy reaching Earth

 Changes in the reflectivity of Earth’s atmosphere and surface
 Changes in the greenhouse effect, which affects the amount of heat retained by Earth’s
atmosphere

These factors have caused Earth’s climate to change many times.