Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mesoscale Convective System
Why in the News?
A recent study in Nature Geoscience suggests that soil moisture levels could help predict severe thunderstorms, like mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), especially in regions like India.
About Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS):
- MCSs are larger than individual thunderstorms but smaller than larger weather systems like cyclones.
- They typically cover areas between 100 to 1,000 km in diameter.
- They form when warm, moist air rises, creating storms that feed off each other, growing in size and intensity as they move across the region.
- They can cause flash floods, damaging winds, and severe thunderstorms, and are often responsible for large-scale weather events.
- In tropical regions, MCSs account for 50 to 90 % of total rainfall, making them a major cause of severe weather-related damage.
- A notable example is the March 2024 thunderstorm in West Bengal, which caused significant property damage and loss of life.
Soil Moisture’s Role in MCS as per the Study:
- Shifts in soil moisture can be detected two to five days before the formation of storms, providing critical lead time for early warnings in vulnerable regions.
- Contrasting soil moisture levels over large areas (hundreds of kilometers) lead to changes in atmospheric conditions, including A notable example is the March 2024 thunderstorm in West Bengal, which caused significant property damage and loss of life.
- Larger contrasts in moisture content between dry and wet regions cause greater temperature differences, which in turn lead to changes in wind direction and speed.
- These variations contribute to turbulence, making storms more intense and spreading rainfall over a wider area.
| [UPSC 2013] During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by the
1. meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky 2. lightning that separates the nimbus clouds 3. violent upward movement of air and water particles Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (d) None of the above produces the thunder |
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