BRACE FOR STILL WINDS

Wind circulations are slowing down across the globe. It may not be immediately apparent in terms of wind speed, which is a local phenomenon. But scientists say global stilling of wind affects almost every aspect of our lives—from unpredictable rainfall to excess heatwaves to frequent or missing storms. It even affects wind energy production and the aviation sector. Evidence shows a clear connection between global warming and wind stilling. Could this be the missing piece in climate models?

- Akshit Sangomla

IMAGINE A world without wind. A world where the sea breeze no longer caresses the cheek, kites do not fly, trees do not sway and their leaves do not rustle, pollens and seeds do not travel far and wide, weather does not change and the rain-bearing clouds do not visit dry lands. Since wind carries rain around and redistributes temperature, a windless planet would be a land of extremes—areas around the equator would become intensely hot and the poles would freeze solid. Ecosystems would change, some might even disappear. Local accumulations of noxious gasses, say, carbon dioxide in case of a wildfire, would take a long time to dissipate. Ocean currents would not churn up to bring nutrients to the surface or help ships sail along.

Such a scenario may sound like an unused plot line from a post-apocalypse novel, particularly at a time when disasters like storms, cyclones, heatwaves and hurricanes are intensifying. But the fact is that large-scale wind systems, which facilitate the movement of air around the planet, are slowing down.

In 2021, from summer into autumn much of Europe experienced a “wind drought”, as wind speeds slowed by 15 per cent below the annual average or even more.

According to Yale Environment 360, an American online magazine, it was one of the least windy periods in the UK in the past 60 years. In 2010, a study published in science journal Nature also highlighted that annual wind speeds dropped by 5-15 per cent in large parts of Europe, central Asia, eastern Asia, and North America. The most pronounced effect was seen across Eurasia. Global mean annual wind speed decreased significantly at a rate of 2.3 per cent per decade during the first three decades, beginning from 1978, the analysis showed.