Turbines can increase local temperatures. OVER the years, wind turbines have been favoured as one of the most promising renewable sources of energy. But it may come at a cost. This pollution-free and environment-friendly source of energy can cause an increase in local temperatures. Researchers from University at Albany in the US, led by Liming Zhou analysed land surface temperature data of west-central Texas between 2003 and 2011 using instruments on board NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites. The Texas region in the US has four of the world’s largest wind farms.

The Himalayas are warming at a rate higher than the global average. A recent study documents how this has affected cropping patterns and vegetation in the past 10 years. The questionnaire -based study examined changes people observed between the altitudes of 600 metres and 2,200 metres in the Himalayas. For full text: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/climate-notes