India has increasingly been in the grip of more frequent and intense heat waves, with outdoor workers especially struggling with the rising mercury. A recent study published in Science Advances showed that it wasn’t just India: the whole world is grappling with slower and longer heat waves. By looking at how heat waves move over time and space, Dr. White believes the study has bridged the gap between the thermodynamic and dynamic pieces of the heat waves puzzle a little more than before. The jet stream guides atmospheric waves, waves that are caused by the earth’s rotation and which influence the earth’s surface temperature. Country-specific changes in heat waves over time would also be some of the missing pieces of the puzzle she would like to see.

Source: The Hindu May 27, 2024 03:06 UTC