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The weather and air condition: The wind, water, temperature connection

Just to be clear, air condition is not to be confused with air conditioning, which refers to or implies, enclosed-environment temperature and humidity reduction.

Air condition, as used here, has to do with the condition or state air is in, as in whether the air is pure or impure, for instance.

Okay, so now that that’s out of the way, how in the world are air condition and weather connected?

Allow me to explain. Weather consists really, of but three basic components: wind, water and temperature – and the lack thereof, of either of the first two. In a nutshell, that’s it.

The same is true for the condition or state of the air, particularly, in reference to air impurity, otherwise referred to as air pollution. Such is affected by wind, water and temperature.

Temperature and weather go hand in hand. No temperature, and there is no weather – plain and simple, though it’s not reciprocal. If there was no weather, there could still be temperature. Though there is no weather on Earth’s moon, there is temperature.

Now, with regard to air pollution, temperature can, and does, play a role, in fact, at times, that role is substantial.

Take, for example, ozone or smog. One of the conditions that must be present for ozone or smog (the latter sometimes referred to as “ozone smog”) to form in the air is heat, that is, it in combination with other so-called prerequisite preconditions; namely precursor elements like oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds and sunlight. Heat, in effect, is hot temperature.

Then there is such thing as heat-trapping or heat-absorbing gas, otherwise known as greenhouse gas. A characteristic of heat-trapping gas is its ability to trap and retain heat in the atmosphere, much the way an actual greenhouse captures and stores heat for the purpose of growing plants.

Then there’s wind. With regard to polluted air, or even as applied to air itself, wind can be friend or foe.

Wind as friend. Take, for example, in an area, region or community, that is hampered by dirty air, a good breeze can help stir up the air and in it the pollution it contains, well, this can be disbursed and/or sent elsewhere.

Wind as foe: Wind can whip up settled dust on the ground or in a dry lakebed in a heartbeat and send whatever happened to be still (at rest) on the ground and/or on such dry lakebed flying. If toxic in nature, this airborne brew can be harmful or deadly, depending.

And, with respect to weather, in order for a certain type of weather to exist, like hurricanes and tornadoes, wind is a necessary component. In the case of a hurricane, there is one exception: the storm’s eye.

Finally, there is water. Water is essential for rain, fog, hail, snow and water vapor for clouds. (Water vapor, incidentally, is considered to be a greenhouse gas). Virga, meanwhile, is the name given to describe the condition of water or ice droplets falling from clouds, but before reaching the surface, they completely evaporate.

And, like wind, water can be air’s foe or friend.

Water as foe. Periods which have been characterized as dry and where much dust has settled for long stretches of time, it can be kicked up by falling – and landing – rain, especially during conditions when the rain is short-lived. Almost immediately upon which the air impacted actually takes on a musty smell. This has the potential to be unhealthful, and sometimes is mistaken for fresh air when indeed the opposite is true.

Water as friend. This is not difficult to understand. Air burdened by pollution gets relief in the presence of a sufficient rain event, it washing all of the filth from it.

Weather and air condition: They have much in common.

– Alan Kandel

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