Wind rose
Topic: Graphical Representation of Data and Thematic Maps · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Graphical Representation of Data"
Meaning
A wind rose shows how often winds blow from each direction at a place over a period. It often also shows how strong they are. It is drawn as bars that spread out from a centre, pointing toward the directions the winds come from. A longer bar means wind from that direction is more frequent. Wind roses are used to line up airport runways with the main wind and to place polluting industries downwind of towns. A star diagram is a similar radial chart for data that has a direction or repeats in a cycle, such as monthly values.
Example
A wind rose for Mumbai, on India's west coast, for June to September would show its longest bars pointing south-west. This is because the south-west monsoon winds blow from that direction.
Don't confuse with
- Flow map: a flow map shows how much moves between places, such as goods or people, using bands of different widths. A wind rose shows how often winds come from each direction at one point.