Original version

BBC World Service Australasia

CrowdScience

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Answering your questions about life, Earth and the universe

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

CrowdScience: How does a breeze become a gale?

Discussion & Talk

GettyImages-1038495258_crop.jpg

20/11/2020 GMT

How does a breeze become a gale?

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, How does a breeze become a gale?

Why are some winds friendly and others fierce?

Every year, Western Afghanistan is hit with a fierce 120-day wind, and listener Hamid wants to know what causes this phenomenon? He’s from the city of Herat, where what starts as a gentle breeze in the morning can pick up to become a dangerous gale just a few hours later, devastating buildings and causing power outages. 

The BBC’s Abdullah Elham in Kabul tells us the country has plenty of other ‘friendly’ wind but this one is considered ‘fierce’. CrowdScience talks to Professor Amir Aghakouchak to discover more about the phenomenon, and learns about the pollution problems Herat’s summer storm causes in neighbouring Iran. But it’s not all bad news. Professor Lorraine Remer explains how NASA used satellites to map how wind transport Saharan sand almost half way round the world, fertilising the Amazon rainforest. 

Presented by Marnie Chesterton and produced by Marijke Peters for the BBC World Service

[Photo: Tree in wind in desert. Credit: Getty Images]

Accessibility links

Programme Index

CrowdScience

How does a breeze become a gale?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Australasia

About BBC World Service