Heat dome.

February 23, 2023

Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that heat dome over northwest India is likely to recede from land and back off into Central Arabian Sea soon, making way for moisture-laden western disturbance and associated cloud cover with rain or snow in Western Himalayas and adjoining plains.
- It has led to unusual heat in February.
Heat dome is a high-pressure circulation in atmosphere which acts like a dome or cap, trapping heat at surface and favouring heatwave formation.
- It occurs when hot ocean air is trapped over a large area.
Typically, heat domes are tied to the pattern of jet stream (fast winds high in atmosphere that generally runs west to east).
- Normally, jet stream has a wavelike pattern, meandering north and then south and then north again.
- When these meanders in jet stream become bigger, they move slower and can become stationary and resulting into heat domes.
Hot air typically rises into atmosphere, but dome’s lid causes air to sink. As air sinks, it compresses and becomes warmer that causes temperature in dome to rise continually.
Impacts of heat dome:
- Affect sessional agricultural products;
- Increased risk of wildfire,
- heat-related illnesses such as heat rash, heat stroke, heat exhaustion etc.