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2018 Heat Waves
In 2018, several heat waves with temperatures far above the long-time average and droughts were recorded in the Northern Hemisphere: The earth's average surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth highest in the 140 years of record keeping.John Schwartz and Nadia Popovich, 'New York Times,' "2018 Continues Warming Trend, As 4th Hottest Year Since 1880," February 7, 2019 p. 1 It is assumed that the jet stream is slowing down, trapping cloudless, windless and extremely hot regions of high pressure. The jet stream anomalies could be caused by polar amplification, one of the observed effects of global warming. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the severe heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere in the summer of 2018, are linked to climate change, as well as events of extreme precipitation. The results were an increase in mortality of the elderly, severe declines in crop yields, as well as the biggest algae bloom in the Baltic Sea in decades. This had the effect of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heat Wave
A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season. Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be called a heat wave in a cooler area if they are outside the normal climate pattern for that area. The term is applied both to hot weather variations and to extraordinary spells of hot weather which may occur only once a century. Severe heat waves have caused catastrophic crop failures, thousands of deaths from hyperthermia, increased risk of wildfires in areas with drought, and widespread power outages due to increased use of air conditioning. A heat wave is considered extreme weather, and poses danger to human health because heat and sunlight overwhelm the human body's cooling system. Heat waves can usually be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which in turn runs through steam turbines. These either drive a ship's propellers or turn electrical generators' shafts. Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating. Some reactors are used to produce isotopes for medical and industrial use, or for production of weapons-grade plutonium. , the International Atomic Energy Agency reports there are 422 nuclear power reactors and 223 nuclear research reactors in operation around the world. In the early era of nuclear reactors (1940s), a reactor was known as a nuclear pile or atomic pile (so-called because the graphite moderator blocks of the first reactor were placed into a tall pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate Change In The Arctic
Major environmental issues caused by contemporary climate change in the Arctic region range from the well-known, such as the loss of sea ice or melting of the Greenland ice sheet, to more obscure, but deeply significant issues, such as permafrost thaw, social consequences for locals and the geopolitical ramifications of these changes. The Arctic is likely to be especially affected by climate change because of the high projected rate of regional warming and associated impacts. Temperature projections for the Arctic region were assessed in 2007: These suggested already averaged warming of about 2 °C to 9 °C by the year 2100. The range reflects different projections made by different climate models, run with different forcing scenarios. Radiative forcing is a measure of the effect of natural and human activities on the climate. Different forcing scenarios reflect things such as different projections of future human greenhouse gas emissions. These effects are wide-rang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 Northeast Asia Heat Wave
Throughout much of July 2018, a record-breaking heat wave affected large areas of Northeast Asia including Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China. Many areas in Japan experienced temperatures in excess of , and Kumagaya recorded a maximum temperature of on 23 July – the highest ever observed in the country. Synopsis Following flooding and mudslides that lasted from late June through mid-July 2018, an extensive heat wave spread across the Japanese mainland. In the prefectures that had been hit the worst by floods and landslides, Hiroshima, Okayama, and Ehime, 145 people were hospitalized with heat stroke symptoms as temperatures there rose above . On 15 July, 200 out of 927 stations in the nationwide observation network recorded maximum temperatures exceeding . On 23 July, a high temperature of was observed in Kumagaya, northwest of Tokyo. This constitutes an all-time high for all of Japan. Many cities recorded temperatures near on this day. In Kyoto, tempera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 North American Heat Wave
The 2018 North American heat wave affected regions of Canada, where at least 70 deaths in Quebec were heat-related, the United States, where 18 states between Michigan and New Mexico issued heat advisories to a population of over 60 million people, and of Mexico, particularly the northwest and central regions. Canada Quebec and Ontario From June 29 to July 6, 2018, the air temperature consistently rose above in parts of Quebec and Ontario. The humidex value for Ottawa on Canada Day between noon and 3 pm was , the highest ever recorded in the city. The humidex also peaked at in Toronto and in Montreal. The heat wave also affected the Maritimes, with the humidex value reaching in Halifax and at Greenwood in the Annapolis Valley, on 5 July. On 4 July, Montreal emergency services reported twelve hundred calls per day about the heat, up 30% from prior busiest days. As of 10 July, seventy-four people, most of them already ill, had died heat-related deaths in Quebec. Thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 Attica Wildfires
A series of wildfires in Greece, during the 2018 European heat wave, began in the coastal areas of Attica in July 2018. 104 people were confirmed dead from the Mati fires (the last died in October 2022, from health problems which was caused because of the fire). The fires were the second-deadliest wildfire event in the 21st century, after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Australia that killed 173. Over 700 residents were evacuated or rescued, mainly from the seaside settlements located north of the port town of Rafina, namely Kokkino Limanaki and Mati, where rescuers found 26 corpses trapped just metres away from the sea, apparently hugging each other as they died. Boats also recovered corpses from the water, and rescued hundreds of people from beaches and the sea. Two heroic people drowned when the boat rescuing them from a hotel in Mati capsized. Μore than 4,000 residents were affected by the wildfires. The Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras declared a state of emerg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 Sweden Wildfires
In the summer of 2018, a large number of wildfires (primarily forest fires) occurred throughout much of Sweden. According to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, they are the most serious in the country in modern history. The summer was unusually warm and dry, significantly raising the risk of fire. Firefighters from multiple countries were involved in fighting the fires. Many people were evacuated from their homes, but there were no fatalities. Heatwave and cause of fire Sweden experienced an unusually long heatwave and had only of rain from the beginning of May to late July. May 2018 was the warmest May and July 2018 was the warmest July ever recorded in Sweden. As of mid-July, temperatures in Scandinavia were more than above normal. Several of the fires were started by people using disposable barbecues, though bans on these were in place due to the weather conditions. Some were started by lightning strikes. Wildfires also occurred in the neighbouring countries Denma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 United Kingdom Wildfires
Starting on 24 June 2018 and continuing throughout the summer, a record-breaking series of wildfires burned across the United Kingdom. The two largest fires, which were declared major incidents, burned over each and broke out on Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester and Winter Hill in Lancashire. Other large fires broke out in Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland (640 acres), Epping Forest, in London and in the Vale of Rheidol in Ceredigion, Wales. The Saddleworth Moor fire has been described as the largest English wildfire in living memory. Most of the wildfires occurred during the first official heatwave in the United Kingdom since June 2017, with temperatures reaching above for several days, making the hottest June in the country since 1995, and the driest June for over ten years in large parts of the United Kingdom, exacerbating the crisis. A wildfire started on the Staffordshire Moorlands on 9 August and, despite rain, had spread to cover 219 acres by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 British Isles Heat Wave
The 2018 Britain and Ireland heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather that took place in June, July and August. It caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans, crop failures, and a number of wildfires. These wildfires worst affected northern moorland areas around the Greater Manchester region, the largest was at Saddleworth Moor and another was at Winter Hill, together these burned over of land over a period of nearly a month. A heat wave was officially declared on 22 June, with Scotland and Northern Ireland recording temperatures above for the first time since the July 2013 heat wave. The British Isles were in the middle of a strong warm anticyclone inside a strong northward meander of the jet stream, this was part of the wider 2018 European heat wave. The Met Office declared summer 2018 the joint hottest on record together with 1976, 2003 and 2006. Weather earlier in 2018 Spring started with record cold in early March with the 2018 Great Britain and Ireland cold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 European Heat Wave
The 2018 European drought and heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather that led to record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in many parts of Europe during the spring and summer of 2018. It is part of a larger heat wave affecting the northern hemisphere, caused in part by the jet stream being weaker than usual, allowing hot high-pressure air to linger in the same place. According to the European Drought Observatory, most of the areas affected by drought are across northern and central Europe. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the severe heat waves across the northern hemisphere in the summer of 2018, are linked to climate change in Europe, as well as events of extreme precipitation. General Researchers at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and World Weather Attribution estimated that climate change more than doubled the overall likelihood of the heat wave, and in some places like Denmark made it up to five times as likely. The heat has b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electrical Grid
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power Transmission: Background and Policy Issues. The Capital.Net, Government Series. Pp. 1-42. * power stations: often located near energy and away from heavily populated areas * electrical substations to step voltage up or down * electric power transmission to carry power long distances * electric power distribution to individual customers, where voltage is stepped down again to the required service voltage(s). Grids are nearly always synchronous, meaning all distribution areas operate with three phase alternating current (AC) frequencies synchronized (so that voltage swings occur at almost the same time). This allows transmission of AC power throughout the area, connecting a large number of electricity generators and consumers and potenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, it shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and Asia to the east. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents of Earth#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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