It has always been an effortless assumption that high rises and skyscrapers in cities help break thunderstorms’ strength preventing it from causing the maximum destruction, as compared to that of an area with least building structures – where a storm can lease a reign of uninterrupted devastation.
Thus, urban environments’ tendency to alter the behavior of storms is no new an observation.
But, eventually things are recently found to be just the opposite of what has been presumed so long! Compared to that in the countryside, cities make summer thunderstorms more intense.
This new finding is sure to have left you pondering on how a city can intensify a thunderstorm! Scientists have proposed 3 mechanisms behind this –
* Heat island effect: The heat produced by a city making it hotter than the surrounding land, can be one of the storm-fueling factor.
* Buildings: Tall buildings piercing up into the atmosphere can lead to a wind drag. This in turn can create a ‘boiling action’ in the upward-moving air rather than increase in rainfall.
* Aerosols: These tiny suspended particles are always comparatively higher over a city-air, emitted by vehicles and industry, which can eventually suppress rainfall.
Thus, this storm-city link seems to be the culprit behind more devastation in cities and more fierce flash floods.
Besides, it also provides a message that more the air pollution and increased temperatures in cities more will it trigger flash flooding and storm-caused devastation.
