A hot wind that brings a persistent long-term drought is called dry wind. Such winds blow in summer in deserts, including in Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.
Instructions
Step 1
The dry wind is characterized by its low relative humidity, sometimes not exceeding 30%, high air temperature, from 21 to 25 degrees, which contributes to strong evaporation of moisture. Dry wind mainly has a southern direction, less often east. Such steady hot winds in the arid regions of the tropical and subtropical belt are called "sirocco", "khamsin". Dry wind most often occurs on the southern periphery of anticyclones, when arctic dry and cold air flies over a hot area and warms up. Usually the speed of the dry wind is moderate, up to 5 m / s, but in some cases it can reach the force of a hurricane, accelerating to 15-20 m / s.
Step 2
Anticyclones are inactive, therefore dry winds last from several days to several weeks, inclusive. The soil cover suffers the most from dry wind, but negative processes also occur in the atmosphere. This type of wind causes high evaporation from the soil surface, thereby disrupting the water and heat balance of plants, causing significant damage to agricultural land. Plant organs are damaged, and many crops die from a sharp decrease in moisture content in the soil and in the air. In areas where vegetation is absent, dry winds cause dust storms, transferring the smallest particles of soil from one place to another.
Step 3
The degree of damage to plants depends on the duration of windy weather. If before the beginning of the dry wind the soil was sufficiently moist, then the harm from the dry wind will be small and only to those plants that are especially sensitive. In order to further reduce the harmful and destructive influence of dry winds, protective forest belts are planted on their way, measures are taken to help retain moisture in the soil. Snow retention obstacles have a good effect in this case.
Step 4
The more forests are cut down around the world, the stronger the consequences of dry winds. Dust storms in unprepared areas often carry away the fertile soil layer along with seeds that did not have time to germinate if they occur in early spring. The best means of dealing with this kind of winds is landscaping, since even low forest stands are able to trap dust and prevent the wind from carrying away the soil. Planting of birches, lindens, spruces, larches and firs is effective as protective plantings. The selection and planting of drought-resistant plant varieties in places where dry winds are common is also of great importance.
