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Scenes
last week of allied troops trying to operate during sandstorms and
accounts of the hindrance of helicopter operations caused by sand
in air intakes and corrosion of rotor blades have shown how the
best laid military plans are dependent upon the weather elements.
The threat of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) attack means
that troops, whether as part of an exercise or in response to a
real threat, are having to get used to wearing their NBC suits and
gasmasks in the desert heat.
Temperatures
The
start of the war saw temperatures around Baghdad reaching around
20 degrees Celsius by day - not unbearably hot. But further south
around Basra British troops were feeling the effects of temperatures
in the mid-twenties Celsius.
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| Sand
dunes |
Temperatures
in desert regions fall very quickly at night. At least our troops
have been able to experience relatively comfortable nights with
temperatures falling to around 10 degrees Celsius.
Many of the troops serving in the Gulf will have trained in desert
conditions and will be
able to operate under more extreme conditions
than are currently being experienced. But some of the military hardware
is struggling to function in those same conditions.
Sandstorms
Sandstorms
during the last week impacted upon both ground and air operations.
Such storms are fairly unusual so early in the year but strong winds
can develop as low pressure forms on the southern side of Iran's
Zagros Mountains.
This 'shamal' wind is particularly prevalent in late May and June
as part of the circulation of the Indian monsoon. This '40-day shamal'
often produces wind speeds of 20 to 30 MPH during the day, moderating
only slightly at night.
Winds of 20 to 30 MPH will obviously make the seas of the Gulf very
choppy, but land forces will find these conditions produce full-blown
sandstorms. The visibility can be reduced to just a few metres.
Even when the winds ease, as they tend to do at night, there is
so much dust suspended in the atmosphere that the visibility may
remain below 200 metres.
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| Richard
Angwin - Wiltshire weather is his expertise. |
Aircraft
operations become almost impossible with air intakes becoming blocked,
severe wind shear and very poor horizontal and vertical visibility.
With average maximum temperatures rising to 35 degrees Celsius by
early May, there is a strong incentive to complete military operations
as quickly as possible.
To help UK forces adapt to the weather patterns a team of meteorologists
from the Met Office's Mobile Met Unit (MMU) will be operating with
the frontline commanders, utilising all available satellite and computer
technology to maximise troop operations when weather conditions allow.
Iraq has a harsh climate, one in which normal daily activity is difficult
enough. A full scale military operation is likely to be a very severe
test for both our forces and their equipment.
Richard Angwin
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