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I live near Gatwick airport and am so used to the noise of planes that I rarely notice it. However, during a recent cold spell, the planes were a lot louder than usual. Why would this be?
Nick Baker
Colchester, Essex, UK
Cold weather is often associated with a temperature inversion where the temperature is lowest at ground level. Sound travels faster in warmer air and this leads to refraction, or a bending of the sound waves. According to the relative position of the source and the listener, this creates a focusing effect, making the noise louder on the ground.…
