GUYANA AND the rest of the world are experiencing extreme weather patterns as a result of Climate Change. In Guyana, there are two seasons: The dry and rainy seasons — with the weather patterns, over the years, being normal. However, the weather patterns are changing and there are astronomical increases in the amount of rainfall — a clear deviation from the normal trends. In this article, we take a closer look at weather and its effects on the environment and people.

What is weather?
Weather is the specific condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time. It comprises different elements, such as wind, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation. In most places, weather can change from minute-to minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season.

Climate, on the other hand, is the average of weather over time and space. A simple way of remembering the difference is that ‘climate’ is what you expect (cold winters, hot summers), and ‘weather’ is what you get (sun, rain, wind etc.)

Weather describes whatever is happening outdoors in a given place at a given time. The weather can change a lot within a very short time. For example, it may rain for an hour and then become sunny and clear. Weather is what we hear about on the television and radio news every day.

Weather helps to shape the Earth…
Weather is one of the fundamental processes which shape the Earth. The process of weathering breaks down rocks and soils into smaller fragments, and then into their constituent substances. These are then free to take part in chemical reactions that can affect the surface further, or are re-formed into other rocks and soils. In this way, weather plays a major role in the erosion of the earth’s surface.

What causes weather?
Almost all familiar weather phenomena occur in the troposphere (the lower part of the atmosphere). Weather does occur in the stratosphere (layer just above the troposphere) and can affect weather lower down in the troposphere, but the exact mechanisms are poorly understood. Weather occurs primarily due to density (temperature and moisture) differences between one place and another. These differences can occur due to the sun’s angle at any particular spot, which varies by latitude from the tropics.

In other words, the farther from the tropics you are, the lower the sun angle is, and this causes those locations to be cooler due to the indirect sunlight. Because the Earth’s axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, sunlight is incidental at different angles, at different times of the year. The atmosphere is a complicated system, so small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. This makes it difficult to accurately predict weather more than a few days in advance, though meteorologists (someone who studies weather) are continually working to extend this limit through the scientific study of weather.

Effects on humans…
Weather is an important part of our lives, and one that we cannot control. Instead, the weather often controls how and where we live, what we do, what we wear, and what we eat. Weather has played a large and sometimes direct part throughout human history. Apart from climatic changes that have caused the gradual drift of populations, extreme weather events have also caused small-scale population movements which intruded directly on historical events, e.g., the 2005 floods in Guyana.

Weather affects people in drastic ways, and it can also affect our health, since the human body is negatively affected by extremes in temperature, humidity, and wind. Our mood can also be affected by the weather.

We have no control over the weather, and since it is a complicated phenomenon, we need to be alert at all times. In Guyana, we are experiencing excessive rainfall; therefore, citizens need to listen to the news and take the necessary precautions. Help to cushion the negative effects of this extreme weather pattern by adopting positive actions for the environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stratoshpere

You can also share your ideas and questions by sending your letters to: ‘Our Environment’, C/O EIT Division. Environmental Protection Agency, 7 Broad and Charles Streets, Charlestown, GEORGETOWN or email us at eit.epaguyana@gmail.com with questions and comments.