The wind is the movement of air currents in relation to the Earth’s surface.
Wind, along with atmospheric pressure, are the two most important physical variables affecting climate on Earth.
Wind is produced by the rotational movement of the Earth, the insolation effect created by the entry and exit of the sun’s rays through our atmosphere and the differences in atmospheric pressure caused by cold and hot air.
Wind is important for the Earth and its inhabitants, since it is a natural transport for seeds and birds, helping, for example, in the pollination of some plants as an abiotic pollination vector, and in the migration of birds with the currents. of winds.
Wind is measured by its speed and direction. The anemometer measures its speed in meters per second or kilometers per second and the weather vane, an instrument placed on top of a compass rose, indicates the direction or geographical sectors through which the wind comes, such as, for example, north, northeast, southwest, this one, etc.
Wind is a renewable energy resource whose energy is called wind energy. Since ancient times, wind has been used to produce electricity through windmills. Today, wind energy is generated through wind turbines that in turn are connected to networks for electrical distribution.
Types of wind
planetary winds
They are winds that cross the entire length of the Earth influenced by the rotational movements of the Earth. They are constant and contain great thermal energy.
Planetary winds affect atmospheric pressure depending on air temperatures. When the air is cold, it descends to the Earth’s surface, increasing atmospheric pressure, also called a thermal anticyclone. When the air is hot it rises into the atmosphere, lowering the atmospheric pressure causing instability, this phenomenon is known as a cyclone or thermal storm.
Planetary winds are classified into:
Trade winds: they blow along the equator line from east to west due to the rotation of the Earth. They are regular and always move in the same direction.
Counter-trade winds: Solan in the strip of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn from west to east from the polar circles.
circumpolar winds: They are very cold winds and are generated due to the rotation of the Earth and the tilt of its axis.
Periodic winds or seasonal winds
Periodic or seasonal winds, also known as monsoons, arise in India, Indochina, Japan, the Gulf of Guinea, northern Australia and the coasts of Peru.
They are winds from the Indian Ocean that blow for 6 months from the land to the sea and the other 6 months from the sea to the land, causing dry winters and rainy summers.
The El Niño phenomenon and its opposite phase known as La Niña affect these seasonal winds.
Regional winds
Regional winds are affected and determined by the distribution of land and sea in the area.
local winds
Local winds affect small areas and territories. The usual winds that affect these places receive names given by the inhabitants. This custom is called eolonymy. Some of them are, for example:
Zonda: wind that blows in the eastern Andes of Argentina causing strong, dry winds. They are art of the Föhn or Foehn effect.
North wind: wind with a north and northeast direction that affects the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico, especially the city of Veracruz in winter.
Sudestada: wind that affects Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil from December to January.
See also: Renewable resources and Natural resources.