Heat Dome

HEAT DOME

By Anton Antonio

August 5, 2015

What, exactly, is a heat dome?  A heat dome actually does by so many other names… heat wave, heat bubble, heat attack, Heatmageddon, etc.  The various terms are a result of the fact that no one can really put their fingers on the origin of this phenomenon.  To most, however, the term “heat dome” is just a metaphoric description.

A heat dome is actually a large high pressure weather system with hot temperatures pushing down on especially moist air close to the ground.  Heat dome is not a scientific term or label although it has been sporadically used over a long period of time to describe this weather system.  Here is an attempt to explain the term “heat dome”: The heat dome forms when a high pressure system develops in the upper atmosphere, causing the air below it to sink and compress because there’s more weight on top.  That raises temperatures in the lower atmosphere. (Eli Jacks, forecaster, National Weather Service, 2011)

Heat domes have tormented a great number of people and wreaked havoc on the economies of the following countries: (1) Saudi Arabia – 81 degrees Celsius; (2) Iran – 73 degrees Celsius; (3) Israel – 54 degrees Celsius; (4) Kuwait – 53 degrees Celsius; and, (5) Iraq – 49 degrees Celsius.

Some weather scientists and experts are presently conducting studies to prove if the heat dome phenomenon has a direct link to global warming and climate change.  Most of them are inclined to initially believe that global warming also results to the metaphoric heat dome.

Thoughts to promote action…

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REFERENCES:

www.komonews.com, (2015). “What, exactly, is a heat dome?”  Retrieved on August 5, 2015 from http://www.komonews.com/weather/blogs/scott/126028208.html

www.israelnationalnews.com, (2015). “Apocalyptic Iran Heat Wave Nearly Breaks World Record”.  Retrieved on August 5, 2015 from http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/198954#.VcB0_Pmqqkp

www.nytimes.com, (2015).  “Heat… Wave? Bubble? Dome? Seeking an Apt Name as the Hot Days Pile Up”.  Retrieved on August 5, 2015 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/us/23dome.html?_r=0