Homework for 9 A and 9 B

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  Weather extremes in Belarus

In Belarus weather extremes can occur in all seasons. In winter there are extreme cold, snow storms, glaze and blizzard. In other seasons we can see heavy rains, thunderstorms, wildfires, floods, storms, extreme heat and hail.

Extreme cold. It is weather with temperature less - 35 Degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature in Belarus is -42.2 Degrees Celsius. It was in Tolochin in 1940. In this year extreme cold occurred in February. The impacts are power outages, traffic chaos, closing of schools and nurseries, frost biting.

Snow storms. It happens when snow falls ranging from 20 cm to 30 cm per 12 hour. The record was in Lyntupy in 1965. Snow cover reached 74 cm. The consequences are traffic chaos, downing electricity lines, destroyed roofs.

Glaze. It can be dangerous when diameter of glaze depositions reaches 20 mm. Maximum glaze was in 1965 in Dokshitsy. Diameter reached 114 mm. The effects of glaze are traffic chaos, car crashes, fractures.

Heavy rains are also one of Belarusian weather extremes. The rainiest season is summer. For example, in June 2009. Heavy rains happened in Minsk. The city was turned into Venice. The water was everywhere.  Such a shower can cause destroying of bridges, houses, infrastructure, even victims among people. The maximum precipitation per day was148 mm in Tolochin in 1973.

Floods can be a result of heavy rains. One of the destroying floods in Belarus was in 1993. 40000 people were affected, there were no victims and economic damage reached 100 mln. Main consequences of flood are injured people, destroyed buildings, uprooted trees, washed out roads. As result financial expenses are really great.

Main satellites of heavy rains are hail and thunderstorm. Hail can make damage is its size more 90 mm. Maximum hail was 8-10 cm in 1953 in Braslav. Thunderstorms occur more in the southern regions of Belarus. Maximum number of days with thunderstorms per year is 49 in Gomel.

Extreme heat is also dangerous for agriculture (cause it destroy crops), for people (dehydration, heat-stake, drowning, sunburn), cities and infrastructure. The heat also increases the risk of new disaster – wildfires. For example, in 2006 the heat affected 1820 people and killed 5. The highest temperature in Belarus is +39.2 Degrees Celsius. It was in 2010 in Gomel.

As it is difficult to stop weather extremes, we can only predict it. But there some rules which help people to cope with such dangerous. And the main from them is not to panic, cause it is the main reason of victims, but it is the best way which man can do for himself.