What's the weather like in the Cape of Good Hope?

In azania, the southernmost part of Africa, there is a cape called the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is a storm horn, which has 365 days every year, and at least 100 days is full of squalls and rough waves. On the calmest day, the wave height is 2 meters, not to mention more than 6 meters when it is windy, and sometimes it is as high as 15 meters! Therefore, shipwrecks often occur near the Cape of Good Hope, which is called "the Gate of Hell" by navigators.

1487 In August, a Portuguese navigator named Batereau Miu Dias was entrusted by King John II to find a new route to India.

Diaz led the fleet forward. Near Whale Bay, they encountered a strong storm.

After 13 days and nights, Diaz and others finally survived. In order to commemorate the experience of escaping from the storm, they named this headland in the Atlantic Ocean "Storm Corner".

1488 65438+In February, Diaz and others finally returned to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, after many hardships. King John II personally received him and asked him about his adventure. Diaz told the king in detail about his ordeal and the discovery of storm horn. The king thinks the name "Storm Corner" is unlucky. Because the storm horn is on the route to India, when you see the storm horn, you will see hope. Let's call it the Cape of Good Hope. Therefore, the name of the Cape of Good Hope spread.

However, the Cape of Good Hope has not become calm because of this good name. It is still stormy and unruly all day long. 1500 years, even Diaz, the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope, was unfortunately buried in the sea near the Cape of Good Hope. In the 1970s alone, 1 1 10,000-ton freighter was killed in the Cape of Good Hope.

Among many shipwrecks, the sinking of an oil tanker named "World Honor" is the most surprising.

At that time, the "World Honor" was loaded with 49,000 tons of crude oil and sailed from Kuwait, the "oil country", to Spain in southwest Europe. With advanced equipment, solid hull and rich experience, this great ship is really a world-class ship and a first-class sailor.

However, when the "World Honor" approached the Cape of Good Hope from north to south, disaster suddenly came, and a huge wave more than 20 meters high was pressed over the tanker. When the ship just floated from the abyss, a surging wave surged at the bottom of the ship and entrusted the ship to the wave peak. Due to the sudden arrival of huge waves, the bow and stern of the tanker suspended in the air lost their support, but the middle part could not bear the gravity of tens of thousands of tons of crude oil, and cracks finally appeared in the hull. Under the impact of successive waves, the ship finally broke in two and sank quickly. After the storm stopped, there was nothing left on the sea except a thick layer of crude oil.

Frequent accidents around the Cape of Good Hope shocked the world. Before the Suez Canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea was dug, it was the only way for shipping between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and it was also a very important road. Even today, the 370,000-ton ship has to bypass the Cape of Good Hope.

For the sake of road safety, groups of scientists came to the Cape of Good Hope to investigate the causes of the big waves here. After a period of work, scientists have summarized the reasons for the heavy waves in the sea near the Cape of Good Hope into the following two statements.

First, the wind and waves in the sea near the Cape of Good Hope are caused by the west wind. The Cape of Good Hope is located at the southwest end of the Asian continent. It extends like an arrow into the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Because the Cape of Good Hope is located in the westerlies, there are often strong winds above 1 1, which stir up huge waves and put passing ships in danger.

The "westerly belt theory" seems reasonable, but it has an obvious shortcoming. Because this theory can't explain that the waves are still huge when there is no west wind.

The second statement is "ocean current theory". This was put forward by an American scientist after analyzing many shipwrecks in the waters near the Cape of Good Hope. He found that every time there was an accident, the waves always rushed from southwest to northeast, and the direction of the wrecked ship was from northeast to southwest. In other words, the ship is sailing in the opposite direction to the wave, and the ship is sailing against the wave. The scientists also investigated the local situation on the spot. They found that the underwater current near the Cape of Good Hope was in line with the direction of the ship. In other words, the current at the bottom of the sea pushes the ship forward against the waves, and the interaction of several forces will lead to the shipwreck.

However, "ocean current theory" and "westerly belt theory" also have shortcomings. For example, sea water is flowing, and it is difficult to conclude that the direction of ocean currents remains unchanged for 365 days a year.

However, the Cape of Good Hope, as the "gate of hell", will be in danger as soon as ships reach the waters near the Cape of Good Hope, no matter which day. What is the reason? It is difficult for scientists to fully explain.

Until now, the sea near the Cape of Good Hope is still mercilessly devouring this unfortunate ship. If one day humans can thoroughly grasp the law of wind and wave activities, the natural barrier near the Cape of Good Hope will definitely become a thoroughfare. We look forward to the early arrival of that day.