Global weather disasters
Why has 2010 been a year of global weather-based disasters?
On St David's day this year, heavy rains caused floods and landslides which destroyed a community called Nametsi in Uganda. Nametsi is twinned with communities in Rhondda Cynon Taff.
As Welsh people started to try and help the villagers, local people in Nametsi started digging to find over a hundred missing people. Many of the people trapped were women and children who were trapped there because the river was too swollen for them to get home.
Mud Slides in Uganda
While this was happening in Namestsi, floods and droughts were reported across many parts of Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.
Pakistan's flood disaster
Flash Player Required
Did you know?
Under normal conditions the winds in the Pacific Ocean drive warm surface water westwards where it 'piles up' around Australia and Indonesia. This allows cold water off the coast of South America to rise to the surface. This causes warm moist air in the west and colder drier air in the east.
If the winds weaken above the Pacific Ocean, the warm water in the west flows towards the east. This causes heavy rains in South America and droughts in places like Australia. The local fishermen in Peru called these weather conditions El Niño. This happened in December - March in 2010 causing the climate disasters around the world at the start of the year.
After El Niño the winds did not go back to normal but became much stronger. So even more warm water than usual was piled up in the west of the Pacific and it was this that helped trigger the floods in July and August. These conditions are called La Niña by the local fishermen.
All of this and more is happening for a simple reason: a change in the ocean currents within the Pacific Ocean.
What about Wales?
In Wales weather disasters like the ones in Pakistan and Africa are rare and happen on a much smaller scale. This is because the people at Environment Agency in Wales work very hard to keep us safe. The Agency warns people about possible floods and if their homes and businesses are at risk of flooding.
You can register your address on their website and they will let you know if your village or town is at risk of flooding. They will send you a text, email or leave a voice message for you. Why not enter your postcode?
Related links
Probably the most visible activities of the Environment Agency in Wales are the flood schemes to prevent flooding across Wales.
Decision-making exercise
Find out about the risk of flooding in and around where you live or go to school. Use the Environment Agency Website to help you.
Look at different flood schemes in Wales and make a decision on what aspects of other schemes would work in your local area.
