CLIMATE

The first time a nearby crack of Wyzdom’s thunder leaves an immigrant’s ears ringing or a 50 km/hr breeze knocks him down, the newcomer learns why Wyzdomites take the weather seriously- Wyzdom’s atmospheric pressure, about 80 percent higher than Earth’s, causes 80 percent higher wind pressures at comparable velocities. In addition to packing more destructive force on land, Wyzdom’s winds generate huge ocean waves that can devastate shoreline structures, discouraging both waterfront building and the use of small pleasure boats on the open seas. Fortunately, Wyzdom’s more temperate climate mitigates the power of its weather. The planet’s lower obliquity (angle of inclination toward its ecliptic plane) causes smaller seasonal variations in temperature, and its shorter day causes smaller daily temperature extremes. The lower temperature differences cause lower differences in atmospheric density, the principal cause of thermally induced winds. This reduces wind forces below what they would be if Wyzdom possessed Earth’s seasonal extremes. Yet the immense size of Wyzdom’s continents creates greater extremes of temperature near their centers than are found on Earth. North central Rigel Kentaurus has recorded temperatures as low as -98 degrees, surpassing Earth’s Siberian region.

Wyzdom’s high-density atmosphere thins out rapidly with increasing altitude. Thus, the atmospheric density on the Jan plateau approximates that on Earth at sea level, while at the top of the Allahm Mountains the air is thinner than at the top of Mt. Everest.