Weather hazards key terms

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Economic impact

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The effect of an event on the wealth of an area or community.

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Environmental impact

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The effect of an event on the landscape and ecology of the surrounding area.

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Extreme weather

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When a weather event is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern, and is especially severe or unseasonal. Examples include severe snow blizzards or heatwaves.

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Global atmospheric circulation

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The worldwide system of winds, which transports heat from tropical to polar latitudes. Air circulates through the entire depth of the troposphere, extending up to 15 km from the Earth’s surface.

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Immediate responses

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The reaction of people as the disaster happens and in the immediate aftermath.

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Long-term responses

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Later reactions that occur in the weeks, months, and years after the event.

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Management strategies

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Techniques of controlling, responding to, or dealing with an event.

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Monitoring

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Recording physical changes, such as tracking a tropical storm by satellite, to help forecast when and where a natural hazard might strike.

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Planning

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Actions taken to enable communities to respond to, and recover from, natural disasters, through measures such as emergency evacuation plans, information management, communications, and warning systems.

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Prediction

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Attempts to forecast when and where a natural hazard will strike, based on current knowledge. This can be done to some extent for tropical storms.