Skip to content

Physics

Cold war nuclear bomb tests changed rainfall patterns over the UK

By Layal Liverpool

13 May 2020

nuclear explosion — The MIKE shot in the Pacific was the first thermonuclear test, in November 1952
Everett Collection Historical/Alamy

Electric charge released by radiation from cold war nuclear bomb tests may have changed rainfall patterns thousands of kilometres away, in the UK.

Rain is formed in warm clouds when small droplets of condensation collide and merge to form larger and larger droplets, until these fall down as rain drops. Electric charge in the atmosphere, including that formed during the radioactive decay of strontium-90 and other radioactive material used in nuclear weapons, can increase the likelihood that these small droplets will collide…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

Unlock this article

or

Existing subscribers

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Wispy cirrus clouds in a clear blue sky

Environment

Wildfire smoke in North America could be creating clouds over Europe

News

Transporting explosives can be dangerous

Technology

3D-printed explosive can't detonate unless filled with fluid

News

Image taken: 2nd March 2023 SNOW WAY! The surreal site of snow-draped cacti in Arizona???s Sonoran Desert was captured in breath-taking detail by Jack Dykinga last week. The scenes, which meteorologists have described as ???once in a generation??? demonstrate a rare convergence of nature???s extremes. The Sonoran desert is typically known for its arid sub-tropical climate. Even in winter, days are sunny and mild. But this month the area saw 2-4 inches of snow that lasted about 4 hours. Dykinga, who has been photographing the Sonorn Desert since 1976, says the last big snow was a full decade ago. He described this year???s otherworldly scenes as ???pure magic, seemingly out of place and strikingly beautiful.??? Before the snow arrived, the Desert looked completely different, boasting an explosion of flowers and clear blue skies. The reason for the uncharacteristic snowfall is not fully understood. The current La Ni??a event (a cyclic weather pattern that influences global weather) is partly responsible, coupled with a persistent blocking pattern over the Pacific Ocean and cold air migrating south from the Arctic. Climate change also means extreme weather events are becoming more likely.

Comment

Rare photograph of snow in the usually baking hot Sonoran desert

Regulars

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/hurricane-florence-viewed-from-the-space-station Astronaut Ricky Arnold, from aboard the International Space Station, shared this image of Hurricane Florence on Sept. 10, taken as the orbiting laboratory flew over the massive storm

Physics

How AI is shifting the limits of knowledge imposed by complexity

Features

1

We are finally getting to grips with how plate tectonics started

2

After another dire year for the environment, here's to better times

3

Experiment with 37 dimensions shows how strange quantum physics can be

4

Why it’s so hard to tell when Homo sapiens became a distinct species

5

The wild physics that could actually be used to build a time machine