Rainfall on Earth affected by phases of Moon, finds study

January 31, 2016 3:30 PM | Skymet Weather Team

Earth’s natural satellite is marginally responsible for the amount of rainfall our planet gets. Scientists have found that different phases of Moon affect the amount of rainfall Earth receives, only slightly though.

While the Moon is up high in the sky, it causes Earth’s atmosphere to bend. These ‘bulges’ brought about by the Moon lead to undetectable changes that alters the amount of rain the Earth receives.

The study establishes a rather convincing connect between Moons’ tidal force and rain on Earth. Previous studies have proven that air pressure on our planet varies with the changing phases of the Moon.

As mentioned above, the gravity on Moon causes Earth’s atmosphere to bend outward. As a result, the pressure of the atmosphere in that portion of our planet increases. Higher pressures leads to increase in temperature of air parcels and since warmer air can hold more moisture, the moisture capacity of these air parcels also increases. The resulting humidity affects rain pattern in the region.

The overall change in the amount of rainfall of Earth being affect by the Moons is close to 1%. Thus the change is not noticeable, not so far at least. Also, it does affect other aspects of weather.

(Featured Image Credit: theguardian.com)

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