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Displaying 120 of about 340 resultsA substance or a material emitting, or related to the emission of, ionizing radiation (either in the form of electro-magnetic waves or particle radiation) is radioactive. Depending on the magnitude of exposure, the radioactive substance may become a hazard to human health; as such it is subject to regulatory control by national laws and national regulat…
Radioactive waste is radioactive material for which no further use is foreseen but still contains, or is contaminated with, radionuclides. Radioactive waste can be in gas, liquid or solid form (IAEA, 2018). It may remain radioactive from a few hours to hundreds of thousands of years.N.B. For regulatory purposes radioactive waste is defined as material w…
Violence refers to the intentional or unintentional use of force whether physical or psychological, threatened or actual, against an individual, oneself, or against a group of people, a community, or a government. Violence can either be targeted or indiscriminate, motivated by certain aims, including political, religious, social, economic, ethnic, racia…
Environmental degradation from conflict is defined as the reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives and needs (UNISDR, 2009:6).
A tornado is a rotating column of air, extending from the base of a cumuliform cloud, and often visible as a condensation funnel in contact with the ground, and/or attendant circulating dust or debris cloud at the ground (WMO, 2017).
A tropical storm is a rapid rotating storm originating over tropical oceans. It has a low pressure centre and clouds spiralling towards the eyewall surrounding the ‘eye’. Its diameter is typically around 200 to 500 km, but can reach 1000 km. The related hazards are very violent winds, torrential rain, high waves, storm surges and in some cases tornadoes…
Glaze is a smooth compact deposit of ice, generally transparent, formed by the freezing of super-cooled drizzle droplets or raindrops on objects with a surface temperature below or slightly above 0°C (WMO, 2017).
A drought is a period of abnormally dry weather characterised by a prolonged deficiency of precipitation below a certain threshold over a large area and a period longer than a month (WMO, 2020).
A storm tides is the actual sea level as influenced by a weather disturbance. The storm tide consists of the normal astronomical tide plus the storm surge (WMO, 2017).
Rogue waves are extreme waves with overall or crest heights that are abnormally high relative to the background significant wave height (WMO, 2018).
Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period, which is caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and can also be caused by other chemical additions or subtractions from the ocean (IPCC, 2011).
Sand haze is haze caused by the suspension in the atmosphere of small sand or dust particles, raised from the ground prior to the time of observation by a sandstorm or dust storm (WMO, 1992).
A flash flood is a flood of short duration with a relatively high peak discharge in which the time interval between the observable causative event and the flood is less than four to six hours (WMO, 2006).
Lightning is the luminous manifestation accompanying a sudden electrical discharge which takes place from or inside a cloud or, less often, from high structures on the ground or from mountains (WMO, 2017).
A downburst is a violent and damaging downdraught reaching the ground surface, associated with a severe thunderstorm (WMO, 1992).