They are rightfully considered one of the most unusual natural phenomena. They were discovered relatively recently - about 30 years ago. They appear mainly before a hurricane, so they can not be seen in all countries.

or Atlantis is a place where people disappear, ships and planes disappear, navigation instruments fail, and almost no one ever finds the crashed. This hostile, mystical, ominous country for humans instills such great horror in the hearts of people that they often simply refuse to talk about it.

Cinematographers Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson (Hugh Miller et Doug Anderson) during their presence in Antarctica filmed an amazing phenomenon - ““. Above the surface of the ice in a shallow place, cameramen using the “time lens” method filmed for 12 hours the process of formation of ice stalactites, which reach the ocean floor in the form of a stream of extremely cold (below zero Celsius) and very salty water.

Parhelion is an unusual natural phenomenon that manifests itself in the appearance of several suns in the sky. During parhelion, in addition to the usual sun, several false suns can be observed in the sky. This unusual phenomenon occurs due to the refraction of sunlight in ice crystals floating in the atmosphere.

Something supernatural is happening in Death Valley. Huge boulders crawl along the bottom of a dry lake by themselves. No one touches them, but they crawl and crawl. Nobody saw them move. And all these moving stones of death valley They persistently crawl, as if alive, occasionally turning over from side to side, leaving behind traces stretching for tens of meters. What do these stones need? Where are they crawling? For what?

As children, we are all amazed by the blue sky, white clouds and bright stars. With age, this goes away for many, and we stop noticing nature. Look through this list of unusual natural phenomena; it will probably make you once again surprised by the complex organization of our world, and natural phenomena in particular.

20. Lunar rainbow.

A lunar rainbow (also known as a night rainbow) is a rainbow created by the moon. A lunar rainbow is comparatively paler than a normal rainbow. A lunar rainbow is best seen when the moon is full, or at a phase of the moon close to full, since at this time the moon is at its brightest. For moonbows to appear, other than those caused by a waterfall, the moon must be low in the sky (less than 42 degrees and preferably lower) and the sky must be dark. And of course it must rain opposite the moon. A lunar rainbow is a much rarer phenomenon than a rainbow that is visible in daylight. The moonbow phenomenon is observed in only a few places in the world. Waterfalls in Cumberland Falls, near Williamsburg, Kentucky, USA; Waimea, Hawaii; Trans-Ili Alatau in the foothills of Almaty; Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe are widely known as the site of frequent sightings of lunar rainbows. Located in Yosemite National Park in the United States a large number of waterfalls As a result, lunar rainbows are also observed in the park, especially when the water level rises from melting snow in the spring. Lunar rainbows are also observed on the Yamal Peninsula in conditions of heavy fog. Probably, with sufficiently heavy fog and fairly clear weather, a lunar rainbow can be observed at any latitude.

19. Mirages

Despite their prevalence, mirages always evoke an almost mystical sense of wonder. An optical phenomenon in the atmosphere: the reflection of light by a boundary between layers of air that are sharply different in density. For an observer, such a reflection means that together with a distant object (or part of the sky), its virtual image is visible, shifted relative to the object. Mirages are divided into lower ones, visible under the object, upper ones, above the object, and side ones.

18. Halo

Usually, halos occur when there is high humidity or severe frost - previously, a halo was considered a phenomenon from above, and people expected something unusual. This is an optical phenomenon, a luminous ring around an object - a light source. A halo usually appears around the Sun or Moon, sometimes around other powerful light sources. There are many types of halos, but they are caused primarily by ice crystals in cirrus clouds at altitudes of 5-10 km in the upper troposphere. Sometimes in frosty weather, a halo is formed by crystals very close to the earth's surface. In this case, the crystals resemble shining gemstones.

17. Belt of Venus

An interesting optical phenomenon that occurs when the atmosphere is dusty is an unusual “belt” between the sky and the horizon. It appears as a stripe of pink to orange color between the dark night sky below and the blue sky above, appearing before sunrise or after sunset parallel to the altitude of 10°-20° to the horizon in a place opposite the Sun. In the belt of Venus, the atmosphere scatters the light of the setting (or rising) Sun, which appears redder, which is why it turns out pink color, not blue.

16. Pearl clouds

Unusually high clouds (about 10-12 km), becoming visible at sunset.

15. Northern Lights

The Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, are a truly stunning sight. This natural phenomenon can most often be observed in late autumn, winter or early spring.

14. Colored Moon

When the atmosphere is dusty, high humidity, or for other reasons, the Moon sometimes appears colored. The red Moon is especially unusual.

13. Lenticular clouds

An extremely rare phenomenon, appearing mainly before a hurricane. Opened just 30 years ago. Also called Mammatus clouds. clouds, round and shaped like a biconvex lens - in the past they were sometimes confused with UFOs.

12. St. Elmo's Fire.

A fairly common phenomenon caused by increased electric field strength before a thunderstorm, during a thunderstorm and immediately after. A discharge in the form of luminous beams or brushes (or a corona discharge) that occurs at the sharp ends of tall objects (towers, masts, lonely trees, sharp peaks of rocks, etc.) The first witnesses of this phenomenon were sailors who observed the lights of St. Elmo on the masts and other vertical pointed objects.

11. Fire whirlwinds

A fire whirlwind is also known as a fire devil or fire tornado. This is a rare phenomenon in which the fire, under certain conditions, depending on temperature and air flows, acquires vertical vorticity. Fire whirls often appear when bushes are burning. Vertically rotating pillars can reach from 10 to 65 meters in height, but only for the last few minutes of their existence. And in certain winds they can be even higher.

10. Mushroom clouds.

Mushroom clouds are clouds of smoke in the shape of a mushroom, formed as a result of the combination of tiny particles of water and earth, or as a result of a powerful explosion.

9. Light pillars.

One of the most common types of halo, a visual phenomenon, an optical effect that represents a vertical strip of light extending from the sun during sunset or sunrise.

8. Diamond dust.

Frozen water droplets scattering the light of the Sun.

7. Fish, frog and other rains.

One of the hypotheses explaining the appearance of such rains is a tornado that sucks out nearby bodies of water and carries their contents over long distances.

6. Virga.

Rain that evaporates before reaching the ground. Observed as a noticeable deposition band emerging from the cloud. In North America, it is usually seen in the southern United States and the Canadian prairies.

5. Bora.

Hurricane winds have many names. Strong (up to 40-60 m/s) cold wind in some coastal areas where low mountain ranges border the warm sea (for example, on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, on the Black Sea coast in the Novorossiysk region). Directed down slopes, usually observed in winter.

4. Fire rainbow.

Occurs when sunlight passes through high clouds. Unlike an ordinary rainbow, which can be observed almost anywhere globe, the “fire rainbow” is only visible at certain latitudes. In Russia, the visibility zone runs through the extreme south.

3. Green beam.

An extremely rare optical phenomenon, a flash of green light as the sun's disk disappears below the (usually sea) horizon or appears above the horizon.

2. Ball lightning.

A rare natural phenomenon, a unified physical theory of the occurrence and course of which has not been presented to date. There are about 200 theories explaining the phenomenon, but none of them have received absolute recognition in the academic environment. It is widely believed that ball lightning is a phenomenon of electrical origin, of natural nature, that is, it is a special type of lightning that exists for a long time in the form of a ball, capable of moving along an unpredictable, sometimes very surprising trajectory for eyewitnesses.

IN South America, the Amazon River basin is home to the largest water lily in the world - the giant Victoria Amazonica. The diameter of its leaves reaches two...

Despite the fact that people have long described and found a rational explanation for why certain natural processes and phenomena occur, the most unusual and rare of them still surprise, delight and amaze, in particular fire-breathing mountains spewing lava that sweeps away everything on his way; breathtaking whirlwinds rushing at great speed and lifting stones, logs, cars and even entire houses into the sky; incredible fountains of boiling water rising tens of meters into the air from the depths of our planet.

What is a natural phenomenon

Natural phenomena are ordinary, and in some cases supernatural, meteorological and climatic processes as a result of which nature naturally changes. At the same time, they can be quite harmless and cause absolutely no surprise in people and are perceived as something taken for granted, for example, when it snows or rains, or they can represent real natural disasters, spreading death and destruction around them.

Classification of natural phenomena

Unusual manifestations natural world scientists began to study since ancient times, and in Lately, when science began to move forward by leaps and bounds, its secrets gradually began to be revealed more and more quickly, for example, already in the 17th century. Gilbert proved that our planet is a huge magnet with poles, and a century later Franklin discovered atmospheric electricity.

Since there are a great many natural phenomena on our planet, quite little is still known about them. Therefore, it is not surprising that scientists have described, systematized and classified them. Thanks to this, it became possible not only to study the types of natural processes by category, but also to predict and even prevent the possible occurrence of dangerous natural phenomena, but the amazing manifestations of the natural world are so unpredictable that it is not always possible to do this even with the latest equipment.

The following classification is rather arbitrary, since the same phenomenon of the natural world quite often corresponds to several points at once. Thus, natural phenomena are distinguished:

By the nature of the impact– some types of natural processes or phenomena can have several characteristics at once, for example, a strong flood can be destructive in a city, paralyze traffic on the roads and deplete the soil, making it unsuitable for a good harvest.

Natural disasters of a destructive nature - hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, even the invasion of insect pests (locusts);
Paralyzing natural phenomena completely or partially for a long time traffic is stopped (snowfall, ice, fog);
Phenomena with depleting effects, due to which crop yields and soil fertility decrease, groundwater is depleted and the supply of other natural resources decreases;

By origin:

Natural phenomena that cause man-made accidents - lightning, ice, biochemical corrosion.
Climatic - these types are the most common. Examples of these include a typhoon, blizzard or rain;
Geological and geomorphological are such natural natural phenomena as a tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption;
Biogeochemical - hazardous natural phenomena of this type are mainly emissions of harmful gases from lakes, swamps and other bodies of water;
Biological - their appearance is often caused by objects of living nature: increased reproduction of agricultural pests, as well as blood-sucking insects, predatory and poisonous animals, epidemics, diseases of plants and livestock.
Space - first of all, excessive activity of the sun is dangerous for our world; space weather also affects our world. For example, flares and emissions of charged solar particles and their interaction with the atmosphere and magnetic fields of our planet often lead to emergency situations.

By duration:

Instantaneous - do not last long (within a few seconds or minutes) and are the most dangerous (for example, earthquakes);
Short-term natural phenomena last from several hours to several days (squall, flood, rain, heat and, interestingly, the full moon);
Long-term (their period of action is longer and often lasts months, and in some cases years) - this type of phenomena includes natural processes that last months and even years (for example, volcanic eruptions, the occurrence of ozone holes, drying out of reservoirs);
Centuries-old - last for several decades and can last for centuries (global warming).

By frequency of action:

Daily - for example, sunset and sunrise;
Seasonal - leaves fall in autumn, buds appear on trees and bushes in spring.

By scale of distribution:

Global
Local
Regional

The influence of nature on humans

Scientists have long noticed that nature actively influences not only the life of our planet, but also the health and well-being of a person and even his life expectancy. An important role in this case is given to such factors as the quality of water, land, air purity, and climatic conditions.

For example, if people live in an area that is unfavorable for living (temperatures are too cold in winter and high in summer, high humidity, extremely strong winds), then it will be difficult for the human body to withstand, it will quickly break down and become unusable.

The influences of such natural conditions a person does not notice at all about his body, but pays attention only to the most unusual (for example, rainbows, northern lights, pillars of light), mysterious (for a long time now people have been haunted by the mystery Bermuda Triangle) or hazardous natural phenomena that can lead to serious man-made accidents or human death.

site about the most interesting phenomena

On our website you will find information about the most unusual and amazing natural phenomena and their impact on the world. For example, you might be interested to know that a rainbow can be not only sunny, but also lunar, foggy, fiery, or inverted. You will also find out why people see mirages, aurora or halos.

Here you will read about dangerous natural phenomena that amaze with their beauty and power - tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes and other manifestations of the natural world.

Number of active volcanoes
Did you know that there are 522 active volcanoes on the surface of the globe, 68 of which are underwater? Separately, we should highlight 322 volcanoes that form the so-called Pacific ring. It is interesting that the most powerful link of this formidable ring is formed by Kamchatka with its 28 and the Kuril Islands with 39 volcanoes.

1) Eternal storm from Venezuela

This is, without any doubt, an unusual natural phenomenon. There is a place on Earth where a thunderstorm is more common occurrence than sunlight. This place is where the Catatumbo River flows into Lake Maraquibo. It is there, at an altitude of more than five kilometers, that thunderclouds constantly collide, and as a result we get a thunderstorm that lasts 150 days a year, 10 hours a day. Lightning is a frequent guest in this place (280 lightning strikes per hour, these are not toys for you).

Scientists believe that the “eternal storm” is the most powerful ozone generator on Earth. Perhaps, if it were not for the “eternal thunderstorm,” the entire planet would be constantly exposed to the destructive effects of powerful ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of more than 34 nm.

It is also interesting that the “eternal storm” has served as a beacon for sailors for a very long time.

2) Fish rain from Honduras

None of the inhabitants of this small country can be surprised by such a rare phenomenon as fish rain. This type of rain is quite common in the town of Ioro. All this happens when spring ends and summer begins. It is at this time that thunderstorms begin, lightning flashes, thunder roars... After everything is over, local residents leave their houses and collect... no, not mushrooms - fish, and live ones. Since 1998, this town has even hosted the Fish Rain Festival.

3.Darter goats

Actually, these goats can also be called a unique natural phenomenon. This photo is not a photomontage, these are real goats from real Morocco. There, goats love to climb the trees, eating the tender greenery of the argon tree. In addition to leaves, goats also eat nuts, which they cannot digest.

So the locals have adapted to collecting nuts, which, mmm.., are excreted from the goats’ bodies naturally. For what? Yes, to crush argon oil, which is a valuable component of various cosmetics.

Nowadays, this type of nut is simply disappearing, since there are too many goats, and local residents have begun to extract wood at a very fast pace.

4. Red Rain

In Kerala, one of the states of India, it rained red from July 25 to September 23, 2001. For two whole months, the “bloody” rain stained the white clothes of the Hindus. Of course, there is no connection with blood here - it’s just that the raindrops contained a lot of seaweed spores.

And at first there were even rumors that the red color was caused by the presence of some extraterrestrial cells in the raindrops. In general, scientists quickly clarified the situation. But, of course, red rain still surprises many, many - it cannot be treated like ordinary rain, it looks very frightening.

5. The longest waves on Earth

In Brazil, twice a year, from February to March, the Atlantic Ocean “oppresses” the Amazon, and the waters of this river form the longest wave in the world. The waves of pororoka, as the locals call them, can roll for half an hour. The wave can be heard up to half an hour before it appears, and the sound is so powerful that it often causes trees to fall and local buildings to collapse.

But surfers, fearing nothing, await this wave. Since 1999, the city of San Domingos even hosts an annual championship dedicated to these long waves. By the way, the athlete Picuruta Salazar set a record in 2003 that has not yet been broken by anyone. He rode the wave for about 12.5 kilometers. It took him 37 minutes.

6. "Black Sun" of Denmark

This is what local residents call the flocks of starlings that flock from all over Europe to this country. The result is very bizarre figures, which the inhabitants of Denmark call the Black Sun. This phenomenon can be observed from approximately March to mid-April.

7. Idaho Fire Rainbow

An amazingly beautiful natural phenomenon can be observed in Idaho, USA, when the sun rises high in the sky. The sun's rays pass through high-altitude clouds consisting of hexagon-shaped ice crystals. Sunlight is refracted in these crystals in a bizarre way, and as a result we see a “fiery rainbow”. This phenomenon is by no means local; it can extend over several hundred square miles.

San Francisco - reviews from tourists

Northern lights.

The Northern Lights are nothing more than a collision of solar rays with charged gas particles in the upper layers of the atmosphere. magnetic field Earth.

Rainbow wall.

A rare atmospheric phenomenon also known as a “fire rainbow” occurs when the horizontal rays of the rising or setting sun are refracted through horizontally located cloud ice crystals. The result is a kind of wall painted in different colors of the rainbow. The photo was taken in the skies of Washington in 2006.

Halo.

The sun's rays are reflected from ice crystals located at an angle of 22° relative to the Sun in high-altitude clouds. Different positions of ice crystals can cause halo modifications. On frosty days, a “diamond dust” effect can be observed, in which case the sun’s rays are repeatedly reflected from ice crystals.

Aircraft contrails.

Airplane exhaust and eddy currents at high altitudes turn ice particles into water. The long white streaks high in the sky are nothing more than suspended water droplets.

Twilight rays.

The rays of the setting sun passing through gaps in the clouds form clearly visible individual beams sunlight. Very often such rays of the sun can be seen in various science fiction films. This photo was taken in one of Utah's national parks.

Star trails.

A visual demonstration of the rotation of the Earth. This phenomenon is invisible to the ordinary eye. To get such a photograph, you need to set the camera to a long shutter speed. In the picture, only the only North Star, located almost above the Earth’s axis, remains almost motionless.

White rainbow.

Photo taken on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The small size of airy water droplets makes it impossible to decompose the sun's rays into spectra of colors, so the rainbow is only white.

Buddha's Light.

This photo was taken in China. The phenomenon is similar to the “Ghost of Brocken”. The sun's rays are reflected from atmospheric droplets of water over the sea, the shadow in the middle of the rainbow circle of reflected rays is the shadow of an airplane.

Inverted rainbow.

Such an unusual rainbow also appears as a result of the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals located only in certain parts of the clouds.

Mirage.

A very common atmospheric phenomenon. It can be observed not only in the desert, but also on the road in the sultry heat. This phenomenon is formed as a result of the refraction of sunlight through a “lens” formed by layers of colder (at the surface of the earth) and warmer (located above) air. This kind of lens reflects objects located above the horizon, in this case the sky. Photo taken in Thuringia (Germany).

Shimmering clouds.

The rays of the setting sun at right angles “bump into” the water droplets of the clouds. As a result of diffraction (the bending of water droplets by the sun's rays) and the interference of sun rays (the decomposition of sun rays into spectra), as in Photoshop, the cloud figure is filled with a gradient fill.

Rocket exhaust trail.

The trail of a Minotaur missile fired by the US Air Force in California. Air currents blowing at different altitudes at different speeds cause distortion in the wake of rocket exhaust. Atmospheric droplets of water and melted ice crystals also cause the decomposition of sunlight into different colors of the rainbow.

Ghost of Brocken, Germany.

This phenomenon occurs on a foggy morning. The rainbow solar disk appears opposite the sun, as a result of the reflection of sunlight from droplets of water in the fog. The curious triangular shadow breaking the iridescent disk of reflected sunlight is nothing more than a projection of the upper surface of the clouds.

Zodiacal light.

Zodiacal light often masks moonlight and artificial city light. On a quiet moonless night in nature, the likelihood that you will see the zodiacal light is quite high. This phenomenon is observed as a result of the reflection of solar rays from particles of cosmic dust surrounding the Earth.

Fog
Fog is a type atmospheric precipitation, which consists of a visible mass of microscopic water droplets (or ice crystals) suspended in the atmosphere close to the earth's surface, and typically reduces horizontal visibility at ground level to no more than 1 km.

The diameter of water droplets is only about 0.01 millimeters. Dense fog contains about 1,200 visible droplets per 1 cubic centimeter of empty space—barely enough water to wet the object's surface.

Historically, in the Atacama Desert (Chile), both dew and fog droplets were collected by means of a pile of rocks positioned so that the condensation could drain into the interior of the main part of the pile of rocks, where it was protected from daytime sunlight. The same method was used in Egypt, where the collected water was stored underground.

During a stop on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands) on the way to America, Bartolomé de la Casas became interested in the culture of the local Bimbacho tribe, which had already begun to disappear in the 16th century. The Bimbacho worshiped the Garo tree (Ocotea foetens), which provided them with abundant food. fresh water. This "sacred tree" could absorb water contained in fog and drizzle, allowing agriculture to be carried out in an area with very low rainfall. Garo was destroyed by a hurricane in 1610. Surprisingly, its disappearance coincided with the disappearance of the bimbacho culture on the island of El Hierro.

Water for the 350 residents of the coastal village of Chungungo (in northern Chile) had to be brought in once or twice a week from a town 40 km away. A huge bank of clouds (kamanchaca) constantly stretches along the coast of Chile, which does not often lead to rain, but creates fog on the slopes and tops of the mountains that trap it. A team of scientists has developed a method of using kamanchaca as a source of water: the moisture contained in the fog is retained using collectors similar to large volleyball nets. As the fog passes through the mesh, water droplets form on the mesh cells. The water flows down through meshes into ditches, which go into a reservoir with a capacity of 100,000 liters. On average, these fog retention devices provide the village with 10,000 liters of water per day.

Every morning, the Namib beetle (Onymacris unguicularis) makes the arduous trek to the top of a sand dune, where it points its body into the wind, straightens its hind legs and lowers its head. Droplets of fog coming from the sea gradually collect on its back and then flow into the beetle's mouth. Thus, this beetle is always provided with a safe morning drink, being at a great distance from the nearest source of fresh water.

25-40% of the water in coastal redwood forests is the result of fog. Trees receive some of this water through their roots, when water drips onto the ground from fog-saturated leaves and branches.

About half of the 90,000 known premium grades plants in Central and South America with the richest flora in the world grow in the mountainous zone.

Interesting facts about lightning

Lightning is a fascinating and fascinating natural phenomenon. At the same time, it is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable natural phenomena. But what do we really know about lightning? All over the world, scientists are collecting facts about lightning, trying to reproduce them in their laboratories, measuring their power and temperature, but are still unable to determine the nature of lightning and predict its behavior. But still, let's look at interesting facts about lightning that are already known.

Facts about lightning:

At this moment, there are about 1,800 thunderstorms in the world.
Every year, the Earth experiences an average of 25 million lightning strikes or more than a hundred thousand thunderstorms. That's more than 100 lightning strikes per second.
The average lightning strike lasts a quarter of a second.
You can hear thunder 20 kilometers away from lightning.
A lightning discharge travels at a speed of about 190,000 km/s.
The average length of a lightning strike is 3-4 kilometers.
Some lightning travels a twisted path in the air, which may not exceed the thickness of your finger in diameter, and the length of the lightning path will be 10-15 kilometers.
The temperature of a typical lightning strike can exceed 30,000 degrees Celsius—that's about 5 times the surface temperature of the sun.
The energy contained in one lightning bolt can power a 100-watt light bulb for 90 days.
“Lightning never strikes in the same place twice.” Unfortunately, this is a myth. Lightning often strikes the same place several times.
The ancient Greeks believed that when lightning struck the sea, a new pearl appeared.
Trees can sometimes take lightning strikes without catching fire. This is because electricity passes through the wet surface directly into the ground.

Some more interesting facts about lightning:

When struck by lightning, sand turns into glass. After a thunderstorm, glass streaks can be found in the sand.
If your clothes are wet, then zipper will cause you less harm.
During a 6-hour thunderstorm across the United States, 15,000 lightning flashes flashed across the sky. It felt like lightning was constantly burning.
The tallest building in the world, the CN Tower, is struck by lightning approximately 78 times a year.
Lightning flashes can also be seen on Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.
In the Middle Ages, it was believed that thunder and lightning were the creation of the devil, and church bells scared away evil spirits. Therefore, during a thunderstorm, the monks constantly tried to ring bells, and, accordingly, most often became victims of lightning.
The irrational fear of lightning is called keraunophobia. Fear of thunder - brontophobia.
There are from 100 to 1000 instances of ball lightning on Earth at the same time, but the chance that you will see at least one of them is 0.01%.

Deadly facts about lightning

On average, about 550 people die from lightning strikes in Russia.
About a quarter of all people who become victims of lightning die.
Men are killed by lightning approximately 6 times more often than women.
The telephone is one of the most common causes of lightning striking a person. Avoid talking on the phone during a thunderstorm, even indoors.
After a lightning strike, branched stripes remain on the human body - signs of lightning. Disappears when pressed with a finger.

A hurricane is a very strong type of cyclonic storm. The name "hurricane" is given to storm systems that develop in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific Ocean. These same types of extreme, cyclonic storms also occur in other oceans around the world, but they are called differently. In the Pacific Northwest they are called typhoons, and in much of the rest of the world, they are called cyclones. They all have one thing in common - wind speed, which is usually more than 100 kilometers per hour at the epicenter. The energy of storms circulates around it (this is called the “eye of the storm”). These types of storms develop in warm tropical oceans, gaining energy from evaporation sea water. Interestingly, hurricanes weaken as they move toward land because they draw energy from the ocean. When the winds of a hurricane meet friction with the surface of the earth, the storm loses its power and ferocity.
Hurricanes are weather events that have a seasonal trend during warm weather. "Hurricane season" begins in June and continues until early November, during the warmest weather in tropical seas. Scientists and meteorologists use a special scale called the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale to estimate the strength of a hurricane they are observing. This assessment may be useful to people living in areas threatened by an upcoming hurricane and should help them prepare for an attack.

During a storm, waves exert pressure from 3 to 30 thousand kilograms per 1 square centimeter. Surf waves sometimes throw rock fragments weighing up to 13 tons to a height of 20 meters. Along the western coast of France alone, the energy of one wave impact corresponds to a power of 75 million kilowatts. Scientists are thinking about how to subordinate this power to man. In France, it is planned to build a giant tidal hydroelectric power station with a dam 18 kilometers long. The capacity of this power plant is expected to be increased to 12 million kilowatts. Interestingly, as a result of the construction of a tidal hydroelectric power station, it is believed that the Earth will slow down its rotation on its axis by one day every 2 thousand years.
It is curious that at great depths in the ocean waves up to 100 meters high occur, but on the surface of the water these waves are invisible.
The highest tsunamis (the Japanese name for huge sea waves that accompany coastal earthquakes or earthquakes somewhere in the open ocean) are observed in the Pacific Ocean basin. Their height reaches 30 meters. Tsunamis penetrate about a kilometer deep into the coast. The Japanese, Aleutian, Hawaiian, Philippine, Kuril Islands and partly Kamchatka are susceptible to their invasion.

FLOOD FACTS AND FIGURES

Floods, including flash floods, flooding of coastal strips of rivers and seas, floods and floods associated with ice jams and mudflows, represent the most burdensome water-related natural risk for people, material assets, as well as for cultural and environmental resources.

Every year, floods affect 520 million people worldwide. and their livelihoods, claiming about 25 thousand lives.

The annual cost of floods and other water-related disasters to the global economy is between US$50 and 60 billion.

When a flood occurs in a less developed country, it can result in thousands of deaths and outbreaks of epidemics, as well as wipe out decades of infrastructure investment and cause serious damage to economic prosperity.

Developing countries focused on development Agriculture, rely heavily on fertile floodplains for food security and poverty alleviation.

Wetlands in floodplain areas help preserve biodiversity and provide new jobs. It is estimated that there are currently one billion people, i.e. One sixth of the world's population, most of whom are among the poorest people, live in floodplain areas.

In Asia, the continent most at risk from flooding, between 1987 and 1997, floods claimed an average of 22,800 lives per year and cost US$136 billion in economic losses. Doll.

Floods in Europe in 2002 killed 100 people. and caused damage of 20 billion US dollars. Doll.

As the frequency of severe floods changes due to urbanization, accompanied by population growth in flood-prone areas, deforestation, potential climate change and rising sea levels, the number of people vulnerable to devastating floods is expected to increase around the world.

Interesting Earthquake Facts

One of the interesting facts about earthquakes is, on average, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 or higher would occur once a year. While more than a million little tremors shake the earth every year. Read on…

One of the strong and destructive forces of nature is an earthquake. When there is a sudden release of energy within the Earth's crust, seismic waves are created and this results in an earthquake. The intensity of the earthquake is measured using the Richter scale and it is recorded in the seismometer.

Here are some interesting facts about the earthquake.

In 350 BC, Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, discovered that soft ground shakes more than hard and rocky ground when an earthquake occurs.

In America, European settlers experienced an earthquake in the mid-17th century. However, Spanish explorers made the earliest report of an earthquake in 1769. It occurred 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

In 1556, on January 23, an earthquake occurred in Shanxi, China, killing approximately 830,000 people. This earthquake is considered the deadliest in human history.

In 1751, primitive seismographs were first built; The cause of the earthquake was determined only in 1855.

An interesting statistic about earthquakes is that there were 46 major earthquakes worldwide from 1900-1949. That's a year on average, 1.08. However, between 1950 and 1999 an average of 1.64 earthquakes occurred worldwide. This is the 82 earthquake reported worldwide. Another interesting statistic is between 2000 and 2004, 10 major earthquakes were reported worldwide at an average of 2.5 earthquakes per year. You must have realized the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes is increasing every year.

Many people believe that lunar cycle influences earthquakes. However, this is not true because the moon never affects earthquakes.

Reports show that several million detectable earthquakes occur throughout the world. However, only 20% of the earthquake's shaking could be felt. The reason is that the tremors are small or because earthquakes occur in remote areas.

On May 22, 1960, a magnitude 9.5 earthquake struck southern Chile. This is the largest earthquake ever recorded. It killed thousands and approximately two million were left homeless. The intensity of this earthquake caused a tsunami on the coasts of Japan, killing approximately 140 people.

An interesting fact about earthquakes is that southern California experiences an average of 10,000 earthquakes per year. However, most of these earthquakes are minor tremors that go unnoticed. Only 15 to 20 earthquakes are larger than magnitude 4.0.

Another interesting fact- error, San Andreas - a series of errors known as a zone error and no error. This error zone is more than 800 miles long and 10 miles deep. An earthquake could occur along one of these fault zones at any time.

The San Francisco Bay Area is susceptible to major earthquakes. The middle section of the Bay Bridge collapsed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Many motorists were killed because they were trapped between the beams.

It is true that animals can sense or detect earthquakes before they happen. However, animal behavior cannot be used as one of the methods to predict the occurrence of an earthquake. It's an unsolved mystery, and scientists are still scratching their heads as to what animals would have felt before the earthquake occurred.

Hazardous natural phenomena mean extreme climatic or meteorological phenomena that occur naturally at one point or another on the planet. In some regions, such hazardous events may occur with greater frequency and destructive force than in others. Dangerous natural phenomena develop into natural disasters when the infrastructure created by civilization is destroyed and people die.

1. Earthquakes

Among all natural hazardous phenomena First place should be given to earthquakes. In places where the earth's crust breaks, tremors occur, which cause vibrations of the earth's surface with the release of gigantic energy. The resulting seismic waves are transmitted over very long distances, although these waves have the greatest destructive power at the epicenter of the earthquake. Due to strong vibrations of the earth's surface, massive destruction of buildings occurs.
Since quite a lot of earthquakes occur, and the surface of the earth is quite densely built up, the total number of people throughout history who died as a result of earthquakes exceeds the number of all victims of other natural disasters and is estimated in many millions. For example, over the past decade, about 700 thousand people have died from earthquakes around the world. Entire settlements instantly collapsed from the most destructive shocks. Japan is the country most affected by earthquakes, and one of the most catastrophic earthquakes occurred there in 2011. The epicenter of this earthquake was in the ocean near the island of Honshu; on the Richter scale, the force of the tremors reached 9.1. Powerful tremors and the subsequent destructive tsunami disabled the Fukushima nuclear power plant, destroying three out of four power units. Radiation covered a significant area around the station, making densely populated areas, so valuable in Japanese conditions, uninhabitable. The colossal tsunami wave turned into mush what the earthquake could not destroy. Only officially over 16 thousand people died, to which we can safely include another 2.5 thousand who are considered missing. In this century alone, destructive earthquakes occurred in the Indian Ocean, Iran, Chile, Haiti, Italy, and Nepal.

2. Tsunami waves

A specific water disaster in the form of tsunami waves often results in numerous casualties and catastrophic destruction. As a result of underwater earthquakes or shifts of tectonic plates in the ocean, very fast but subtle waves arise, which grow into huge ones as they approach the shores and reach shallow waters. Most often, tsunamis occur in areas with increased seismic activity. A huge mass of water, quickly approaching the shore, destroys everything in its path, picks it up and carries it deep into the coast, and then carries it into the ocean with a reverse current. People, unable to sense danger like animals, often do not notice the approach of a deadly wave, and when they do, it is too late.
A tsunami usually kills more people than the earthquake that caused it (most recently in Japan). In 1971, the most powerful tsunami ever observed occurred there, the wave of which rose 85 meters at a speed of about 700 km/h. But the most catastrophic tsunami was observed in the Indian Ocean in 2004, the source of which was an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, which claimed the lives of about 300 thousand people along a large part of the Indian Ocean coast.

Environmental disasters have their own specifics - during them not a single person may die, but at the same time a very significant...

3. Volcanic eruption

Throughout its history, humanity has remembered many catastrophic volcanic eruptions. When the pressure of magma exceeds the strength of the earth's crust at the most weak points, which is what volcanoes are, it ends in an explosion and outpouring of lava. But the lava itself, from which you can simply walk away, is not so dangerous as the hot pyroclastic gases rushing from the mountain, penetrated here and there by lightning, as well as the noticeable influence of the strongest eruptions on the climate.
Volcanologists count about half a thousand dangerous active volcanoes, several dormant supervolcanoes, not counting thousands of extinct ones. Thus, during the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, the surrounding lands were plunged into darkness for two days, 92 thousand inhabitants died, and cold temperatures were felt even in Europe and America.
List of some major volcanic eruptions:

Volcano Laki (Iceland, 1783). As a result of that eruption, a third of the island's population died - 20 thousand inhabitants. The eruption lasted for 8 months, during which streams of lava and liquid mud erupted from volcanic fissures. Geysers have become more active than ever. Living on the island at this time was almost impossible. The crops were destroyed and even the fish disappeared, so the survivors starved and suffered from unbearable living conditions. This may be the longest eruption in human history.
Volcano Tambora (Indonesia, Sumbawa Island, 1815). When the volcano exploded, the sound of the explosion spread over 2 thousand kilometers. Even the remote islands of the archipelago were covered with ash, and 70 thousand people died from the eruption. But even today, Tambora is one of the highest mountains in Indonesia that remains volcanically active.
Volcano Krakatoa (Indonesia, 1883). 100 years after Tambora, another catastrophic eruption occurred in Indonesia, this time “blowing the roof off” (literally) the Krakatoa volcano. After the catastrophic explosion that destroyed the volcano itself, frightening rumbles were heard for another two months. A gigantic amount of rock, ash and hot gases were thrown into the atmosphere. The eruption was followed by a powerful tsunami with wave heights of up to 40 meters. These two natural disasters together destroyed 34 thousand islanders along with the island itself.
Volcano Santa Maria (Guatemala, 1902). After a 500-year hibernation, this volcano woke up again in 1902, beginning the 20th century with the most catastrophic eruption, which resulted in the formation of a one and a half kilometer crater. In 1922, Santa Maria reminded itself again - this time the eruption itself was not too strong, but the cloud of hot gases and ash brought the death of 5 thousand people.

4. Tornadoes

Throughout the history of mankind, powerful earthquakes have repeatedly caused colossal damage to people and caused a huge number of casualties among the population...

A tornado is a very impressive natural phenomenon, especially in the United States, where it is called a tornado. This is an air flow twisted in a spiral into a funnel. Small tornadoes resemble slender, narrow pillars, and giant tornadoes can resemble a mighty carousel reaching towards the sky. The closer you are to the funnel, the stronger the wind speed is; it begins to drag along increasingly larger objects, up to cars, carriages and light buildings. In the “tornado alley” of the United States, entire city blocks are often destroyed and people die. The most powerful vortices of the F5 category reach a speed of about 500 km/h at the center. The state that suffers the most from tornadoes every year is Alabama.

There is a type of fire tornado that sometimes occurs in areas of massive fires. There, from the heat of the flame, powerful upward currents are formed, which begin to twist into a spiral, like an ordinary tornado, only this one is filled with flame. As a result, a powerful draft is formed near the surface of the earth, from which the flame grows even stronger and incinerates everything around. When a catastrophic earthquake occurred in Tokyo in 1923, it caused massive fires that led to the formation of a fire tornado that rose 60 meters. The column of fire moved towards the square with frightened people and burned 38 thousand people in a few minutes.

5. Sandstorms

This phenomenon occurs in sandy deserts when strong winds rise. Sand, dust and soil particles rise sufficiently greater height, forming a cloud that sharply reduces visibility. If an unprepared traveler gets caught in such a storm, he may die from grains of sand falling into his lungs. Herodotus described the story as in 525 BC. e. In the Sahara, a 50,000-strong army was buried alive by a sandstorm. In Mongolia in 2008, 46 people died as a result of this natural phenomenon, and a year earlier two hundred people suffered the same fate.

A tornado (in America this phenomenon is called a tornado) is a fairly stable atmospheric vortex, most often occurring in thunderclouds. He's visual...

6. Avalanches

They periodically descend from snow-capped mountain peaks snow avalanches. Climbers especially often suffer from them. During the First World War, up to 80 thousand people died from avalanches in the Tyrolean Alps. In 1679, half a thousand people died from snow melting in Norway. In 1886 it happened major disaster, as a result of which the “white death” claimed 161 lives. The records of Bulgarian monasteries also mention human casualties from avalanches.

7. Hurricanes

In the Atlantic they are called hurricanes, and in Pacific Ocean typhoons. These are huge atmospheric vortices, in the center of which the most strong winds and sharply low blood pressure. In 2005, the devastating Hurricane Katrina swept over the United States, which particularly affected the state of Louisiana and the densely populated city of New Orleans, located at the mouth of the Mississippi. 80% of the city's territory was flooded, and 1,836 people died. Other famous destructive hurricanes include:

Hurricane Ike (2008). The diameter of the vortex was over 900 km, and in its center the wind blew at a speed of 135 km/h. In the 14 hours that the cyclone moved across the United States, it managed to cause $30 billion worth of destruction.
Hurricane Wilma (2005). This is the largest Atlantic cyclone in the entire history of weather observations. The cyclone, which originated in the Atlantic, made landfall several times. The damage it caused amounted to $20 billion, killing 62 people.
Typhoon Nina (1975). This typhoon was able to breach China's Bangqiao Dam, causing the destruction of the dams below and causing catastrophic flooding. The typhoon killed up to 230 thousand Chinese.

8. Tropical cyclones

These are the same hurricanes, but in tropical and subtropical waters, representing huge low-pressure atmospheric systems with winds and thunderstorms, often exceeding a thousand kilometers in diameter. Near the surface of the earth, winds at the center of the cyclone can reach speeds of more than 200 km/h. Low pressure and wind cause the formation of a coastal storm surge - when colossal masses of water are thrown ashore at high speed, washing away everything in its path.

Occasionally, tsunami waves occur in the ocean. They are very insidious - in the open ocean they are completely invisible, but as soon as they approach the coastal shelf, they...

9. Landslide

Prolonged rains can cause landslides. The soil swells, loses stability and slides down, taking with it everything that is on the surface of the earth. Most often, landslides occur in the mountains. In 1920, the most devastating landslide occurred in China, under which 180 thousand people were buried. Other examples:

Bududa (Uganda, 2010). Due to mudflows, 400 people died, and 200 thousand had to be evacuated.
Sichuan (China, 2008). Avalanches, landslides and mudflows caused by an 8-magnitude earthquake claimed 20 thousand lives.
Leyte (Philippines, 2006). The downpour caused a mudslide and landslide that killed 1,100 people.
Vargas (Venezuela, 1999). Mudflows and landslides after heavy rains (almost 1000 mm of precipitation fell in 3 days) on the northern coast led to the death of almost 30 thousand people.

10. Ball lightning

We are accustomed to ordinary linear lightning accompanied by thunder, but ball lightning is much rarer and more mysterious. The nature of this phenomenon is electrical, but scientists cannot yet give a more accurate description of ball lightning. It is known that it can have different sizes and shapes, most often they are yellowish or reddish luminous spheres. For unknown reasons, ball lightning often defies the laws of mechanics. Most often they occur before a thunderstorm, although they can also appear in absolutely clear weather, as well as indoors or in an airplane cabin. The luminous ball hovers in the air with a slight hiss, then can begin to move in any direction. Over time, it seems to shrink until it disappears completely or explodes with a roar.