The wind is invisible, but you can feel it. It caresses the face, tangles the hair, snatches hats. For nature, the wind is life. It spreads seeds, pollinates flowers, drives away clouds with rain. For humans, it is energy, danger, inspiration. But in recent years, the wind has become more capricious. Hurricanes destroy homes, droughts kill crops. What has changed? We tell you about the role of the wind in the life of the planet and people. How the wind is born Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Simply put: where the air is warmer, it rises, and cold air comes in its place — the wind blows. The greater the temperature difference, the stronger the wind. On Earth, there are permanent winds: trade winds (blow towards the equator), westerlies (in the temperate zones), monsoons (change direction with the seasons). Local winds: breeze (day — from the sea to the land, night — vice versa), foehn (warm wind from the mountains), bora (cold, from the mountains to the sea). Wind speed is measured in meters per second (m/s). Gentle wind (0-0.5 m/s) — smoke rises vertically. Light (1-3 m/s) — leaves rustle. Moderate (5-8 m/s) — branches sway. Strong (10-15 m/s) — trees bend. Storm (20-25 m/s) — branches break. Hurricane (more than 30 m/s) — destruction. The strongest wind in the Solar System is on Neptune (up to 2000 km/h). The record on Earth is 408 km/h (Island Barrow, Australia, 1996). Wind in nature: pollinator and traveler The wind carries pollen. More than 80% of plants (grains, birch, alder, pine) are pollinated by the wind. Without the wind, there would be no bread — wheat, rye, oats are pollinated by the wind. Ragweed and other allergens are also spread by the wind — a problem for allergy sufferers. The wind spreads seeds. Dandelion, maple, birch, osier, poplar (puff) — their seeds have "parachutes". Orchid seeds are microscopic, the wind carries them for thousands of kilometers. Pines and firs are scatte ... Read more