An occurrence of dust rain in the foothills of the Kumaun Himalaya
1
310 Weather – November 2010, Vol. 65, No. 11 Viewpoint scrutiny by both their allies and their critics. The guiding principle for future communi- cations by climate researchers should be to serve the public interest, to provide citizens and their representatives with the informa- tion they need and an understanding of the options available so that they can make informed choices and decisions. It will take time for researchers to do all this, but it is essential if the reputation of UK climate science is to be repaired, as the dam- age that has been caused in the last year will not simply fade away. Senior researchers need to show courage and leadership, to set an example and demonstrate that profound and fundamental lessons have been learned from recent events. clearly how risks can grow during any delay while we wait for the uncertainties to be reduced. Indeed, there would be many ben- efits if researchers became more accus- tomed to expressing themselves in the language of risk instead of uncertainty. A greater understanding of risk communica- tion and perception would better equip climate scientists to talk to the public and policy-makers about their work, and assist decision-making. Of course, the development of better communication skills must take place alongside efforts to increase transparency, not just about data and techniques but also about ethical and professional standards. Climate researchers will have to be open to Reference Luntz Research Companies. 2002. The Environment: a cleaner, safer, healthier America. In Straight talk. Luntz Research Companies. http://www.luntzspeak.com/ graphics/Luntz-Research.Memo.pdf Correspondence to: Robert Edward Thomas Ward, [email protected] © Royal Meteorological Society, 2010 DOI: 10.1002/wea.683 Readers are encouraged to submit letters for possible publication. Letters can be submitted either electronically through the system used for articles, by email attachment to [email protected] or by post, as shown on the Contents page. The Letters Editor reserves the right to edit any letter. An occurrence of dust rain in the foothills of the Kumaun Himalaya On the evening of 28 May 2010, shortly after 8.30 pm LT (1500 UTC), the sound of rain could be heard on the tin roof. I im- mediately went outside with a large plastic container to collect the water from the roof. There was a short-lived heavy shower last- ing no more than 10–15 minutes that pro- duced about two millimetres of rain. As soon as the rain stopped I went outside and noticed that the water collected was light yellow in colour. There were two further showers, one shortly after midnight and a second between 4 and 5 am. When the moisture evaporated in the early morning sun I found a light covering of very fine, light yellow, dust on the ground and on the vegetation. A search on the internet revealed no men- tion of dust rain, but dust storms had been reported on 28 May from Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana. This was the first time that I have observed such a phenomenon here in the village of Kausani, situated at 29° 50.318 N and 79° 36.516 E, at an altitude of about 1750 metres. David Hopkins Almora, Uttarakhand, India DOI: 10.1002/wea.640 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, when a sudden and alarming gust of wind, associated with a strong downdraught, stirred up dust and debris accumulated during the long dry season. In the subsequent brief but tor- rential downpour, young children took off their clothing to enjoy and rejoice in the first rain of the season. English use of the name ‘tornado’ for such storms dates back to sixteenth-century mariners in the tropi- cal Atlantic (Murray and Craigie, 1926). For further examples and speculations on this usage see Kenworthy (2000). The occurrence of easterly waves in West Africa Following the fascinating paper by J. F. P. Galvin (2010) on the occurrence of easterly waves in West Africa, it is interesting to note that W. G. Kendrew (1937) did not, as is suggested in the paper, refer to associ- ated squalls as ‘tornadoes’ because of ‘the very strong winds associated with them, locally including rotating vortices’, but because they have been known as torna- does in many parts of West Africa since the sixteenth century. Weather on the West Coast of Tropical Africa (Met Office, 1949) points out that these storms are of course quite different from the small cyclonic whirls of the same name that are well known in the United States which do not occur in this region. The West African squalls occur before and after the more persistent mon- soon rains when deeper moist air from the south arrives and later retreats. This writer has experienced an April squall of this sort References Galvin JFP. 2010. Two easterly waves in West Africa in summer 2009. Weather 65: 219–226. Kendrew WG. 1937. The Climates of the Continents. 3rd edn. Oxford University Press: Oxford. Kenworthy JM. 2000. The use of the word ‘tornado’ in West Africa and the eastern tropical Atlantic. Weather 55: 60–62. Met Office. 1949. Weather on the West Coast of Tropical Africa. HMSO: London. Murray JAH, Craigie WA (eds). 1926. A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles X, Part I. Clarendon Press: Oxford. Joan Kenworthy Dept of Geography, Durham University DOI: 10.1002/wea.678 Letters
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310
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ther
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ovem
ber 2
010,
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. 65,
No.
11
View
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scrutiny by both their allies and their critics. The guiding principle for future communi-cations by climate researchers should be to serve the public interest, to provide citizens and their representatives with the informa-tion they need and an understanding of the options available so that they can make informed choices and decisions.
It will take time for researchers to do all this, but it is essential if the reputation of UK climate science is to be repaired, as the dam-age that has been caused in the last year will not simply fade away. Senior researchers need to show courage and leadership, to set an example and demonstrate that profound and fundamental lessons have been learned from recent events.
clearly how risks can grow during any delay while we wait for the uncertainties to be reduced. Indeed, there would be many ben-efits if researchers became more accus-tomed to expressing themselves in the language of risk instead of uncertainty. A greater understanding of risk communica-tion and perception would better equip climate scientists to talk to the public and policy-makers about their work, and assist decision-making.
Of course, the development of better communication skills must take place alongside efforts to increase transparency, not just about data and techniques but also about ethical and professional standards. Climate researchers will have to be open to
ReferenceLuntz Research Companies. 2002. The Environment: a cleaner, safer, healthier America. In Straight talk. Luntz Research Companies. http://www.luntzspeak.com/graphics/Luntz-Research.Memo.pdf
Correspondence to: Robert Edward Thomas Ward,[email protected]© Royal Meteorological Society, 2010 DOI: 10.1002/wea.683
Readers are encouraged to submit letters for possible publication. Letters can be submitted either electronically through the system used for articles, by email attachment to [email protected] or by post, as shown on the Contents page. The Letters Editor reserves the right to edit any letter.
An occurrence of dust rain in the foothills of the Kumaun Himalaya
On the evening of 28 May 2010, shortly after 8.30 pm LT (1500 UTC), the sound of rain could be heard on the tin roof. I im-mediately went outside with a large plastic container to collect the water from the roof. There was a short-lived heavy shower last-ing no more than 10–15 minutes that pro-duced about two millimetres of rain. As soon as the rain stopped I went outside and noticed that the water collected was light yellow in colour. There were two further showers, one shortly after midnight and a second between 4 and 5 am.
When the moisture evaporated in the early morning sun I found a light covering of very fine, light yellow, dust on the ground and on the vegetation.
A search on the internet revealed no men-tion of dust rain, but dust storms had been reported on 28 May from Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana.
This was the first time that I have observed such a phenomenon here in the village of Kausani, situated at 29° 50.318 N and 79° 36.516 E, at an altitude of about 1750 metres.
David HopkinsAlmora, Uttarakhand, India
DOI: 10.1002/wea.640
in Freetown, Sierra Leone, when a sudden and alarming gust of wind, associated with a strong downdraught, stirred up dust and debris accumulated during the long dry season. In the subsequent brief but tor-rential downpour, young children took off their clothing to enjoy and rejoice in the first rain of the season. English use of the name ‘tornado’ for such storms dates back to sixteenth-century mariners in the tropi-cal Atlantic (Murray and Craigie, 1926). For further examples and speculations on this usage see Kenworthy (2000).
The occurrence of easterly waves in West Africa
Following the fascinating paper by J. F. P. Galvin (2010) on the occurrence of easterly waves in West Africa, it is interesting to note that W. G. Kendrew (1937) did not, as is suggested in the paper, refer to associ-ated squalls as ‘tornadoes’ because of ‘the very strong winds associated with them, locally including rotating vortices’, but because they have been known as torna-does in many parts of West Africa since the sixteenth century. Weather on the West Coast of Tropical Africa (Met Office, 1949) points out that these storms are of course quite different from the small cyclonic whirls of the same name that are well known in the United States which do not occur in this region. The West African squalls occur before and after the more persistent mon-soon rains when deeper moist air from the south arrives and later retreats. This writer has experienced an April squall of this sort
References Galvin JFP. 2010. Two easterly waves in West Africa in summer 2009. Weather 65: 219–226.Kendrew WG. 1937. The Climates of the Continents. 3rd edn. Oxford University Press: Oxford.Kenworthy JM. 2000. The use of the word ‘tornado’ in West Africa and the eastern tropical Atlantic. Weather 55: 60–62.Met Office. 1949. Weather on the West Coast of Tropical Africa. HMSO: London.Murray JAH, Craigie WA (eds). 1926. A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles X, Part I. Clarendon Press: Oxford.
Joan Kenworthy Dept of Geography, Durham University
DOI: 10.1002/wea.678
Letters
