Why do the southern hemisphere have more storms than the northern hemisphere?

a Southern Hemisphere It includes most of South America, much of Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans. For some reason, it has about 24% more storms than Northern Hemisphere.

The reasons for the existence of this pattern are unknown. After many studies by the scientific community around the world, it is still not known exactly why there are more storms and severe and catastrophic weather events in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere.

The study examining this issue was published by the researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in October 2022. The research was led by climate scientist Tiffany Shaw of the University of Chicago.

The main causes of storms

The ocean circulation and large mountain ranges found in the northern hemisphere are some of the reasons why there are fewer storms in the north compared to the southern hemisphere.

The researchers used numerical models to describe and reproduce the observations. They removed several variables one by one and analyzed the behavior of the system without each one. In this way, they analyzed the impact of each variable on storms and large meteorological phenomena.

They found that topography and ocean circulation were the main variables. Large mountain ranges in the northern hemisphere impede a large flow of air, which reduces the formation of storms.

Another factor is ocean circulation, as water sinks in from the North Pole, travels across the ocean floor, rises near the surface near Antarctica, and continues to flow at that height, carrying energy.

Not only is climate change causing more storms, it is also causing more uniformity. According to the researchers, storms in the Northern Hemisphere do not increase as much as in the Southern Hemisphere due to ice loss, which is associated with increased absorption of sunlight.