Weather maps

The weather is a description of the atmosphere’s physics for a place for a shortish duration of time. This much we know. We also know that you can show weather conditions on maps. This seems like it’s not a big deal!

But it is! Would I lie to you?

Not all newspapers carry weather maps every day. Even when they do, they are not all that useful because they are made far too small to be of much use. Also, most of you are not taught how to read weather maps. No, this is not going to be a tutorial on how to read weather maps. We’ll do that some other time. May be. I don’t know.

Digital gigital and all

So where can you get to see weather maps then? Online is your best bet.

I know it is true that not everyone can access the internet, alas. Still, if you try, you could probably go online and check out a few.

There are two kinds of weather maps you can find online –

• Dynamic + non-interactive (updated once every hour, 2 hours, etc.), and
• Dynamic + interactive (maps show conditions in real time and you can decide to view different aspects by choosing from menus).

Of these, I find the dynamic interactive maps more fascinating. Even among these, there are varying levels of interactivity.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) web site offers maps that are updated every 2 or 3 hours (I think; I am not entirely sure of this). However, they are not animated. They are static. You can see several interesting maps at their website.

This one for example shows updates over 3-hour intervals (it is updated every 3 hours). When animated, this map shows the trend in chunks; the map jerks forward. Such a map is still useful as you can see the way things are changing during the day quite easily.

There are ones with more interactivity and show real-time conditions. These are useful to understand what processes might be going on in the atmosphere that could be causing the conditions. You will need a little more in-depth understanding of weather to get all the power of this type of map. Here is an example, Ventusky

This map allows you to choose what you wish to show. For example: temperature, clouds, wind speed, air pressure, thunderstorms waves (if you plan to surf the waves somewhere, this could be useful!), snow cover (useful if you plan to go skiing!), freezing level, etc. It also allows you to choose from a limited set of dates for which you can observe the conditions. It is very good to help ask many questions and to push us to find the answers.

Weather and the city!

Now that the monsoons let us enjoy the rains! I know it is a little difficult these days to go and just soak in the rain! Especially because many of us are carrying cell phones with us and we can’t allow it to get wet! People worry that you will get a cold because you got wet in the rain. I also read somewhere that getting wet in the rain does not cause the sniffles. I don’t know. But hey, a cold is a minor inconvenience! So, try and get soaked in the monsoon rain at least once this season. When you do this, do it deliberately if you can. If you can, get soaked with your friends! It’s a lot of fun.

However, rains also bring dangers in the city. If you are out in the rain (deliberately or otherwise), be very careful as there are many pot holes and open drains that could be dangerous.

Things to ponder:

1. Do you use a weather map to plan your day? Why or why not?
2. What are some of the uses of weather maps?
3. Why do many newspapers not print a weather map in their hard copy edition?
4. In the links I have given above, which ones do you prefer and why? (The answer to this goes directly to some fundamental concepts about maps!)
5. Pick a date. Compare the weather maps of any two countries you like. How similar or different are the conditions between them? Why? (The answer to this will require to remember the factors that control the weather in a place.)

A version of this article appeared in the Deccan Herald Student Edition in June 2017