What are Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds and its impact in Australian Bushfire. ( UPSC, PCS exams)

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What is the meaning of Pyrocumunolimbus  Clouds?

                   It is made up of two words, PYRE and CUMULONIMBUS.
Pyre is a heap of Combustible material, generally used to burn the corpses. It is a system that contains the fire.
Cumulonimbus clouds are very dense, Anvil shaped and towered vertical clouds.

                           From these two words, we can conclude that pyrocumulonimbus clouds are those cumulonimbus clouds that contain the fire. Its symbol is "pyroCb"

 Sounds interesting yeah?

 Let me show you a picture-

 Don’t you think it looks like a cumulonimbus cloud?

                     Yes, it is a cloud but not a cumulonimbus cloud. It is a Mushroom cloud. This is a cloud full of fire. It is a cloud which was originated when a nuclear bomb, named Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima by the US.
                    This type of Mushroom (fire containing huge clouds) clouds can be said as Pyrocumulonimbus clouds. These type of clouds can also be formed as Volcanic Eruption as well

  Now, look at another picture-



                       This is a cloud that is huge, vertically extended and it contains the fire.  This is a Pyrocumulonimbus cloud, but it is not formed due to any nuclear test or volcanic eruption.
This is a result of the huge Bushfire which is Experienced in Australia recently and which caused huge destruction of nature. (https://www.businessinsider.com/australia-bushfires-generate-pyrocumulonimbus-thunderstorm-clouds-2019-12)

                        These are also cashed “ FIRE BREATHING CLOUDS”

 What Generates Pyrocumulonimbus clouds?

                          Pyrocumulonimbus clouds can be created as a result of Volcanic eruption or Huge Blasts such as Nuclear tests. But in recent times, it has been found that they can be formed due to huge forest fires( Bushfire in Australia). When there is a huge fire, then Smoke and plumes can reach up to a great height which is responsible for these clouds.

                          Earlier scientists believed that these are rare phenomena, but many studies in the last few years show that these are more often than we think. Pyro clouds are so much vertically extended that they reach up to Stratosphere.

Impact of Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds ( PyroCb):-

                          Cumulonimbus clouds are related to thunderstorms in general. Fire induced thunderstorms as generated due to Pyrocumulonimbus clouds which is a matter of concern.

1. Role in Stratospheric Pollution:-
                         As you know that cumulonimbus clouds extend vertically up to great heights, up to the lower stratosphere. Hence pyrocumulonimbus clouds induce Ash, smoke, and plume in the stratosphere which has many ill effects.

 2. Role in Bushfire in Australia:-
                    In the Australian Bushfire, a unique and interesting phenomenon is observed. The fire was so huge that it sustained itself in a way that it induced more fire.



What happens in this? - 

                       When huge smoke ( which contains fire, heat, plume, etc.) rises, this will rise up to a great height and a large horizontal area. In this process, some ash and plumes can be spread over large areas.

                              It might have some water vapor also ( as a result of evaporation). Further, when it rises further, there would be cloud formation as a result of condensation. Now this cloud is cooled,  and it can cause potential rain.

Now the question is, if it is a cloud, there would be rainfall. And it should result in reducing the fire not aggravate it. Then how it induces fire?



                                The air in this cloud is disturbed while the air in nearby surrounding areas is Calm. When there is an interaction between pyrocumulonimbus clouds and surrounding calm areas, lightning takes place. This lighting is responsible for generating fire in other areas.

                              This is how these pyrocumulonimbus clouds further generated fire as shown in the picture.

                              It has been observed that in recent times, the formation of pyrocumulonimbus clouds is on the rise. Increasing global temperature ( Global Warming) leads to more frequent and intense forest fires and that leads to more Pyrocumulonimbus clouds. 

What do you think? What could be other possible reasons and impacts of Pyrocumulonimbus clouds? 

Feel free to write a comment about anything.

Cheers !! 

More Articles to be read:-
1. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-bushfires-in-australia-are-so-big-they-re-generating-their-own-weather
2. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/australia-wildfires-pyrocumulonimbus-the-fire-breathing-dragon-of-clouds-x9qrggpw7
3. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/pyrocb.html
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKNo9_dfrxo

The article is important for UPSC Prelims and Mains exam, PCS exams, UPSC Geography etc.

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