Page 205 - For Men of Understanding

WINDS
"…and the varying direction of the winds, there are signs for people
who use their intellect." (Surat al-Jathiyah: 5)
Wind is the air current formed between different temperature zones.
Varying temperatures in the atmosphere give rise to different air pressures,
making the air continuously flow from high pressure to low. If the difference
between pressure centres, that is, temperatures in the atmosphere, is too high,
then the air current, that is, the wind becomes very strong. This is how such
highly destructive winds as hurricanes are formed.
What is interesting is that despite highly divergent zones of temperature and
pressure such as the equator and the poles, our world is not continually
exposed to very strong winds thanks to some barriers and "regulations". If the
giant air current, which otherwise would likely have been formed between the
poles and the equator, had not been softened by the means that will be
described below, the earth would have been turned into a dead planet con-
stantly exposed to heavy storms.
Principally, altitude differences on earth break the force of the winds.
Highly differing altitudes give rise to warm and cold front systems. Seen on the
lower slopes of mountains, these systems cause new winds. Thus, the bi-cen-
tred system between the equator and the pole transforms into a multi-centred
system thanks to cliffs, and winds are softened by being channelled in differ-
ent directions. The mountain chains on the earth’s crust function like giant air
corridors. Corridors help the winds spread air evenly across the earth.
The inclination of the world’s axis also has a great role in the softening of
the winds. If the axis of the earth had been exactly perpendicular to its orbit,
the earth would have suffered from violent storms throughout. However, the
o
equator of our planet is tilted at an angle of 23 27’ with respect to its plane of
orbit. Thus, the temperature does not always remain the same in the regions
between the two poles and changes according to seasons. This means that the
air pressure is brought into balance and that therefore the force of the wind is
lessened. As the temperature difference between the equator and the two poles
decreases, the winds blow warmer.
In addition, two gas layers have been created around the planet to balance
the temperature difference. The ozone and carbon dioxide layers balance the
temperature of the atmosphere. The ozone layer absorbs "excessive" sunrays.
Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, has an opposite function: it retains the
acquired heat and thus prevents cooling.
All of this material shows us that man owes his life to a great system con-
taining increasingly complex sub-systems. The whole universe is created to
make human life possible.

The Earth 203