Corporate types looking for one more reason to work at home may find it in a new study by climatologists at Arizona State University in Phoenix. Researchers there who analysed Eastern seaboard weather data dating back to 1946 found that patterns of rainfall matched patterns of air pollution, peaking at the end of the week and reaching the lowest point on Monday morning.
The study, according to The Boston Globe, showed that rain from Florida to Nova Scotia followed a seven-day cycle, peaking on Saturday, with an annual average of 658 millimetres, and dropping to its lowest point on Monday, with an annual average of 538 millimetres. The 22 percent difference surprised even the researchers, who compared those numbers with air pollution measured by a research station on Sable Island, 200 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. The primary source of that pollution is vehicle traffic. The obvious question is, if we work at home, using the Web instead of a car to connect with the office, will it rain less on weekends? The probable answer is “yes”, but if you work at home you’ll be at work on weekends.