MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS LIKE EL NINO, LA NINA, ENSO, URBAN CLIMATE, APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY, HEAT ISLAND ETC.
Contents
1. El Niño 46
1.1. El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) 47
1.2. La Niña 49
1.3. Walker Circulation 50
1.4. El Niño & La Niña Modoki 52
2. Urban Climate 53
2.1. Urban Heat Island 53
2.2. Atmospheric Pollution Over Cities 55
2.3. Urban Climate and Global Climate Change 56
3. Microclimate 56
4. Applied Climatology 57
4.1. Climate and Natural Vegetation 57
4.2. Climate and Agriculture 58
4.3. Climate and Animal Husbandry 58
4.4. Climate and Housing 58
4.5. Air Pollution and Health 58
4.6. Climate and Economy 59
4.7. Climatic Adaptation 59
5. UPSC Previous Years’ Mains Questions 60
6. UPSC Previous Years’ Prelim Questions 60
1. El NiñoFigure 1 – El Nino conditions: Warm water pool approaches the South American coast. The absence of cold upwelling increases warming.Figure 2 – Normal Pacific pattern: Equatorial winds gather warm water pool toward the west.Figure 3 – global precipitation pattern during El NinoFigure 4 – global precipitation pattern during La Nina1.3. Walker CirculationFigure 5 - east–west atmospheric circulation along the longitude–height plane over the Equator. The cell over the Pacific Ocean is referred to as the Walker Circulation.Figure 6 – Walker circulation during La Niña and El Niño1.4. El Niño & La Niña ModokiFigure 7 – El Nino Modoki and La Nina Modoki2. Urban Climate2.1. Urban Heat IslandFigure 8 – Urban Heat Island ProfileImpact on urban dwellersThe heat island effect can be counteracted in several ways:Figure 9 – green roof2.2. Atmospheric Pollution Over Cities2.3. Urban Climate and Global Climate Change3. MicroclimateForest regionsUrban regions4. Applied Climatology4.1. Climate and Natural Vegetation4.2. Climate and Agriculture4.3. Climate and Animal Husbandry4.4. Climate and Housing4.5. Air Pollution and Health4.6. Climate and Economy4.7. Climatic Adaptation5. UPSC Previous Years’ Mains Questions6. UPSC Previous Years’ Prelim Questions