My OperaCape Doctor
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:22:03 PM
Have you seen the doctor lately. Here is one that helps keep South African Cape Town healthy - "die Kaapse dokter" in English known as "The Cape Doctor“. The Cape Doctor is the local name for a strong south-eastern wind – also known as South-Easter - that blows around Cape Town. It is said to clear all pollution (dispersing brown haze, allergens, pollutants and irritants) in the city and across the Cape Flats, offering an amazing clear sky and view of the City and its Table Mountain. Last week it also helped extinguish a fire in the Tygerberg Nature Reserve in Plattekloof. Some winds seem to have a better reputation than e.g. the Californian Santa Ana winds - that by the way aggravate fire danger.
The wind was named "die Kaapse dokter" by early settlers. it occurs regularly between October and March (the South African summer) and is not always benign. Cape winds have been responsible for 484 shipwrecks and thousands of deaths in Table bay and on the shore of the Cape peninsula over the last 500 years.
The South-Easter/”Cape Doctor“ originates from the South Atlantic High pressure system, which moves further southwards in summer as the westerlies retreat polewards. The South Atlantic High then ridges south of the country and joins up with the South Indian High pressure system often forming a band of high pressure to the south of the country during summer. Air flows anti-clockwise around a high pressure and clockwise around a low pressure in the southern hemisphere, so the resultant wind over the Western Cape in summer is mainly from the south east.
The wind was named "die Kaapse dokter" by early settlers. it occurs regularly between October and March (the South African summer) and is not always benign. Cape winds have been responsible for 484 shipwrecks and thousands of deaths in Table bay and on the shore of the Cape peninsula over the last 500 years.
The South-Easter/”Cape Doctor“ originates from the South Atlantic High pressure system, which moves further southwards in summer as the westerlies retreat polewards. The South Atlantic High then ridges south of the country and joins up with the South Indian High pressure system often forming a band of high pressure to the south of the country during summer. Air flows anti-clockwise around a high pressure and clockwise around a low pressure in the southern hemisphere, so the resultant wind over the Western Cape in summer is mainly from the south east.
- http://www.1stweather.com/regional/education/southeaster.shtml
- http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Cape-Doctor-helps-Cape-Town-firefighters-20120125
- http://www.capetownmagazine.com/weather-cape-town/Cape-Towns-Cape-Doctor/160_22_17572
- http://www.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=2898&start=0&sid=b694d932c18e440af575279acc4e4672
- http://www.zigzag.co.za/news/enviro/8433/You-should-have-been-here-an-hour-ago---The-Cape-Doctor,-Western-Cape---%5B-your-world-in-a-photo-%5D
hypocentre # Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:38:17 PM
Darkogdare # Wednesday, February 1, 2012 5:04:18 PM