The huge waves in South Africa were blown into foam by strong winds. How strong is this wind?

Let us first take a look at the whole story of the incident: On July 13, Cape Town, South Africa encountered strong winds. Along with the strong winds and huge waves, quite spectacular "wave foam" appeared on the coastline. Relevant videos showed that a car was tightly wrapped in foam, as if it was trapped in fermented dough, attracting passers-by to stop and take photos.

So why does wave foam form after being blown by strong winds? What's the reason for this? How strong was the wind at that time? We all know that when waves are blown by the wind, there will be white spray, and usually not very clean water will also produce foam after being stirred. By analogy, high-intensity rotation or strong winds are very likely to cause huge waves. Foam. On July 12th, continuous cold fronts hit Cape Town, accompanied by heavy rains and floods. The wind speed was as high as 100 kilometers per hour, and the wave height was up to 10 meters, which created conditions for the generation of "wave foam". Under such high wind speed and huge waves, coupled with the high organic matter content in the sea, it is very easy for the seawater to turn into foam, and then be carried ashore by the strong wind, causing serious impact on the people on the shore.

In addition to the above speculation, some netizens also provided another theory, that is, there are many microorganisms in seawater, so the protein content is high. The strong wind played a stirring role, causing it to fully mix with the air, forming a lot of "protein foam". Generally speaking, the two statements are similar. Whether it is microorganisms or organic matter, both are prone to foaming after stirring, especially under strong winds of 100 kilometers per hour. In fact, in addition to this situation in South Africa, there are also cities in China where "wave foam" occurs. The Salt Lake in Yuncheng, Shanxi will also produce a lot of foam when the wind blows, just like snow. Therefore, "sea foam" is not unusual, and since the sea water is not clean, if you encounter such a situation, it is best not to take pictures or touch it for fun. For the sake of your own health, it is better to go out less and gather less in bad weather. , it is better to spend the disaster weather at home with peace of mind.