The wind of (climate) change

Da 'vento d' autunno' nelle visioni di Maria Legovini

​I saw you toss the kites on high 
And blow the birds about the sky; 
And all around I heard you pass, 
Like ladies' skirts across the grass-- 
O wind, a-blowing all day long, 
O wind, that sings so loud a song! 
I saw the different things you did,  
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all--
o wind, a-blowing all day long,
o wind, that sings so loud a song!
o you that are so strong and cold,
o blower, are you young or old?
are you a beast of field and tree,
or just a stronger child than me?
o wind, a-blowing all day long,
o wind, that sings so loud a song!
                                       Robert Frost
​
I have lived in pretty windy places over the last 10 years, from South West England, to Northern Ireland and the coast of the Netherlands. As someone who loves sailing and surfing, both sports that rely on winds (and waves, which wouldn't exist without winds), it may come as a surprise that I am a bit fed up of the frequent wind storms.. They can be quite annoying, causing public transport delays and making it difficult to cycle to places. And more than that, they can be dangerous when storms occur in densily inhabited areas, where objects can fly, and things can fall. If we remember the strong storms that have happened this year, when many trees fell in and around many cities in Europe (for example in Italy).
Let's not forget the beast from the east... 

Maybe it is just that I am a little fed up of these strong weather events persisting well beyond winter, with 'orange warnings' being still around in mid-June, but I have a feeling that these are indeed becoming more frequent. 
And it turns out that windy days are a result of climate change
How? And everywhere the same? 

Wind depends on temperature differences, the greater the differences the faster the wind. This is why coastal places are amongst the windiest - as sea and land tend to have different temperatures causing strong gradients. Now, climate change will impact this in two ways. First of all we all realise that climate is warming the land, making land temperature increase. Cities and overbuilding are also contributing, as concrete warms at a different rate than earth, grass and trees (walk in a big city after a hot day and you will feel the concrete giving back the heat, walk in a forest after a same hot day and feel the cool atmosphere). This will contribute to a bigger gradient if the adjacent mass (for example the sea) does not warm at the same rate. Another thing is happening and it is that climate change is melting ice in polar regions, which contributes to colder water entering the system.  Now, with water we have some extra complications, as cold water sinks and warm water rises. This changes in water balances is moving currents, which are big conveyor belts moving across oceans (such as the Gulf stream) - and you can imagine their impact on the climate! 

Models predict that storms will decrease in frequency at lower latitudes (closer to the equator), while showing increase at higher latitudes. In Europe itself, wind speed will increase in the Northern countries (UK beware) while decrease in southern areas (from south of spain and italy to the northern coast of Africa). 
​
How is wind impacting us?
Aside from the above mentioned dangers when winds blow in cities, there is a more direct effect of winds on human well-being: wind can be perceived by our bodies as a stress, and our bodies will respond to it by pumping variety of different chemicals around (from cortisol to adrenaline and others in between) and can directly impact our mood...
you can read more on this essay or on this great book titled 'where the wild winds are'

Changes in wind might affect our ability to extract energy from it - so new windfarms should be designed with this in mind.. 

And changes in wind patterns when they become extreme might impact our ability to live, forcing migrations! 
​

And just to leave you with some food for thoughts, despite the song was about the fall of Berlin wall, I feel that some of the lyrics can apply to the change that needs to happen in order to stop climate change, we should unite, together, for the people of today and the children of tomorrow..
Here is a piece of 'winds of change' by Scorpion 

The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away (dream away)
In the wind of change