Introduction
Tradewinds mostly occur in the tropical and sub tropical regions; they are very persistent winds that flow near the surface. The strong tradewinds prevent the hurricanes from forming and can also reduce their strength. A lot of discussions and debates are happening around the issues of global warming and climate changes. Whether the reasons for global warming and climate changes are natural or manmade there has been a notable decrease in the walker circulation tradewinds at least by three and a half percent when checked from 1800’s. In olden times the sailors used to depend a lot on these kinds of wind to travel safely and understand the conditions in the nature during their travel.
History
In the late fourteenth century the name trade winds was derived from medieval English and the word means path or track. The Portuguese were the first to recognize the importance of the tradewinds and it was done as early as the fifteenth century. The pattern of these winds helped the sailors to travel safely. The importance of the tradewinds in entering into different areas by crossing the Atlantic Ocean were known by the eighteenth century and people started identifying the name with the meaning of trade. Mathew Fontaine Maury found enough information between the period 1847 to 1849 to develop current and wind charts and was made available for the world.
Features
Research indicates that the increase in heat will play a vital role in decreasing the tradewinds. If this is to be believed then, with the increased global warming and citizens doing nothing effective to prevent the condition, tradewinds will decrease. This in turn will lead to the increase in number of hurricanes. The major problem is that the people are polluting the environment and cutting off the greenery which results in pollution and changes in climate. In the northern hemisphere these winds mainly flow from the northeast and from the southeast in the southern hemisphere and are stronger during the winter. According to meteorology these winds basically behave like a steering flow for the tropical storms above Atlantic, Pacific, and the Indian Ocean. It can also cause landfall in South East Asia, Africa and South America. Another feature of these winds is that the weaker they are there are more chances of rainfall in the areas neighboring the winds.
Tips and comments
• A lot has been spoken about the adverse effects of climatic changes and global warming.
• The important point to be noticed is that the tradewinds have the power to prevent hurricanes or at least lessen their strength.
• But over the years there is a reduction of these types of winds and this can adversely affect all living beings.
• Once a hurricane occurs thousands of lives are gone, many handicapped for the rest of the life and a vast majority of the people lose their livelihood.
• In a single year millions of rupees are spent for managing the crisis and rehabilitating people after the calamity.
• Now we can understand that the underlying reason for many of the natural calamities is our carelessness and the exploitation of nature.
