Our friend, the wind

1. The air around the Earth is always moving. Wind is air moving from one place to
another.
2. We use the wind's energy in several ways, but very strong winds can cause serious
damage, and sometimes people and animals are killed.
How are winds formed?
1. The warmer parts of the Earth's surface warm the air above them. Air that is warmed
is
lighter than the surrounding air, so it rises.
2. In other places, the air cools and becomes heavier so that it sinks. The wind blows
because cold air moves to replace the warmer air that has risen.
Sea breezes
Winds often start blowing near the sea. Sometimes on a hot day you can feel this
when a cool breeze blows from the sea towards the beach. On a hot day, the land
warms up more quickly than the sea. Air above the warm land rises, so cooler air
from over the sea moves in to take its place.
At night, the wind blows in the opposite direction because the land cools more
quickly than the sea.
The power of the wind
People have used the power of the wind for thousands of years. Long ago, the
Chinese flew kites on a windy day to frighten their enemies.
From earliest times, sailing boats and ships were pushed along by the wind, as yachts
and dinghies are today.
The earliest windmills were used to pump water or to grind corn into flour.
Many modern windmills are used as wind turbines or wind generators.
They have large blades, like propellers, and when these turn they drive generators that
produce electricity.
Unlike coal, oil and natural gas, the wind is a source of energy which does not pollute
the
air and which will never run out. The wind is one kind of renewable energy.

Hurricanes

There are strong winds all over the world, but the most powerful winds are
hurricanes and

tornadoes. They are most common in hot places, such as the tropics.
A hurricane is called a “tropical cyclone” around the Indian Ocean and a
typhoon

in the Pacific Ocean.

Hurricanes usually begin over tropical parts of the world's oceans where the

temperature is more than 27 0C.

Scientists believe that hurricanes form when the air is much warmer than the

surface of the ocean.

The winds then pick up huge amounts of energy and water vapour as they rush

towards the land.

When the wind speed reaches 120 kph the storm is called a hurricane.

A hurricane is a whirling mass of air that can be as much as 900 km across and

10 km high.

At the centre or 'eye' of the hurricane (the clear patch in the centre), the skies
are

clear, the temperatures are high and the air is fairly calm.

The strongest winds, with speeds of up to 350 kph, occur immediately around
the

eye of the hurricane

It takes several days for the hurricane to travel from the ocean, where it was formed, to
the land.

On average, a hurricane lasts for a week or two. Hurricanes produce massive amounts
of rain (300—600 mm).

As it crosses the ocean, the hurricane pushes up huge waves.

The water level near or under a hurricane can be 5m higher than the water level in the
ocean around. When these waves reach land, they can cause serious flood damage.

Hurricane damage occurs mainly on the coast and on islands, A hurricane usually
weakens and dies out fairly quickly once it is away from the ocean. This is because it
gets all its energy and moisture from the sea,
Although tornadoes can develop in most parts of the world, they are most common in the
United States.

On average, about 1000 tornadoes occur there every year. Tornadoes also happen regularly in
parts of Canada, Argentina, China, Australia, south-west Asia and even Europe. In Britain, there
are between 15 and 30 small tornadoes each yearo