What causes rainfall is a very simple phenomenon called the 'Water Cycle'. But what if it is proved that even Aeroplanes can also c...
What causes rainfall is a very simple phenomenon called the 'Water Cycle'. But what if it is proved that even Aeroplanes can also cause rainfall? Artificial rainfall is not what we are talking about here. It is the natural downpour that happens due to the presence of flight tracks or paths in the sky over the clouds. They are also contributors to air pollution with emissions of Carbon-di-oxide gases.
The Carbon emissions not only pollute the climate and the weather but also are now proven to alter the cloud cover mechanism. The American Geophysical Union has conducted this new study on clouds and their altercations. Planes now are adding to the extra rainfall by flying over the clouds.
As per the study, the plane paths and their operation can result in a 10 times boost in the rainfall in that area. This increased rainfall is not due to their emissions but due to the speed and their effects on the air surrounding them. The aircraft wings which swoop through the water particle filled clouds result in overlapping and over layering.
The microphysics behind this is altered by many planes and not a single one. The overlapping is then carried down to the airports where all these planes descend and cause more rain or snowfall at the airports. Talking about this phenomenon a researcher says,
The Carbon emissions not only pollute the climate and the weather but also are now proven to alter the cloud cover mechanism. The American Geophysical Union has conducted this new study on clouds and their altercations. Planes now are adding to the extra rainfall by flying over the clouds.
As per the study, the plane paths and their operation can result in a 10 times boost in the rainfall in that area. This increased rainfall is not due to their emissions but due to the speed and their effects on the air surrounding them. The aircraft wings which swoop through the water particle filled clouds result in overlapping and over layering.
The microphysics behind this is altered by many planes and not a single one. The overlapping is then carried down to the airports where all these planes descend and cause more rain or snowfall at the airports. Talking about this phenomenon a researcher says,
"The interesting thing about this feature is that it is caused by aircraft, but it is not caused by pollution. Even if there would be absolutely ecological aeroplanes, which don’t have any combustion, no fuel or anything, it would still happen".
"Although the bands of enhanced precipitation are artificially created, the physical process jump-started by the passage of planes can occur naturally, which makes them useful laboratories for studying the formation of precipitation. Observing them may help meteorologists 'nowcast' natural rain and snow conditions 2 to 6 hours into the future, which is essential for airport operations".
COMMENTS