42: The Answer to Almost Everything · Season 1 · Episode 78
Will a new wind soon blow?
Sunday, June 18 · 30 min
Many researchers believe that we won't experience more and more wind in the world, but rather less and less. Indeed, if the ice melts at the poles and they warm up, the temperature difference between the equator and the poles will also decrease. Now, this temperature difference is the "engine" that drives our winds: warm, humid air rises at the equator and flows towards the poles, where it cools and descends. If this temperature difference decreases, there should therefore be less wind. And that's what happened: for decades, the wind slowly decreased. About ten years ago, the average wind speed increased again. Why is this happening? Climate research is still lost in conjecture.
