Climate

• Climate graphs

  A combination of a bar graph and a line graph. Temperature is shown on a line graph and rainfall is shown on a bar graph.

  
• Draw: Climate Graph


  No further details provided

  
• Interpreting climate graphs


  • Look for patterns in the temperature data
  • Look for patterns in the rainfall data

  
• Interpreting temperature data

  1. Is the temperature the same all year round?

  2. Which season is the warmest? Is it warm, hot or very hot?

  3. Which season is the coolest? Is it mild, cold or very cold?

  4. What is the range of temperature?

  
• Interpreting rainfall data


  1. Does the rainfall occur all year round?

  2. What is the pattern of the rainfall? Check which season(s) is/are drier or wetter than others.

  3. What is the total annual rainfall? Add each month's total together to get the annual total.

  
• Describing the climate

  Describe the patterns in temperature and rainfall, including how they relate to each other.

  
• Now look again at the climate graph for Manaus below. What can you conclude about the climate?

  
• Climate


  The average weather conditions that a country or region experiences, usually calculated over a period of 30 to 50 years
• Climatic conditions in an area can be affected by the landscape, relief and activities taking place (both human and natural)
• Climate patterns play a fundamental role in shaping natural ecosystems, landforms, and the human economies and cultures that depend on them
• Temperature and rainfall


  The major elements in calculating average climate
• Climate can alter over time and space
• Microclimate


  Areas within a climatic region with small variations in climate, e.g. top of a hill, sunny side, shaded side, bottom of a hill
• Weather


  Refers to actual conditions in the atmosphere (what you get), it is more localised and ever-changing
• Climate


  Refers to what is expected to happen in the atmosphere rather than the actual conditions, usually refers to large areas, and is less dynamic
• Latitude


  • The angular distance of a place North or South of the Equator
  • The angle of the overhead sun
  • The curvature of the earth
  • The thickness of the atmosphere
• At the equator and the areas between 23.5 South and 23.5 North is the region called the tropics, which receive the most heat from the sun
• Between 23.5 and 66.5 in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are the temperate regions, which have reasonably hot summers and mild winters
• Above 66.5 in both hemispheres are the Polar Regions, which are very cold and receive sunlight for only half the year
• The sun's rays travel shorter distances to get to low latitudes areas


  There is less scattering of the sun's rays, implying that the rays are very strong in low latitudes which gives rise to high temperatures at the equator and the tropics

  
• In higher latitude areas the sun's rays experience more scattering because of the long distance travelled


  The rays are weakened in the polar region which leads to low temperatures

  
• Equatorial climates have high temperatures throughout the year because of their location and also receive high level of rainfall due to daily convection
• Hot deserts are hot due their tropical location but receive low rainfall due to various reasons
• Distance from the sea

  Places near the sea are often not as warm during the summer but not as cold in the winter, while places inland have hot summers but cold winters
• Warm ocean currents from the equator

  Raise the temperature of polar areas (with aid of prevailing westerly winds)
• Cold upwelling ocean currents

  Reduce rainfall amounts by cooling the air above and reducing evaporation from the ocean, producing dry conditions
• The Canaries and Benguela cold ocean currents contribute to the formation of the Sahara and Namib deserts
• June 21 (summer solstice)

  The northern hemisphere experiences longer days and shorter nights giving rise to higher temperature, while the southern hemisphere experiences shorter days and longer nights giving rise to lower temperatures
• December 21 (winter solstice)

  The southern hemisphere experiences longer days and shorter nights giving rise to high temperatures, while the northern hemisphere experiences shorter days and longer nights giving rise to lower temperatures
• During the equinoxes on March 21 and September, the sun is directly overhead at the equator and the two hemispheres experience 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night
• Altitude


  Temperature decreases with the increase in height in the troposphere, as there are fewer air molecules to absorb the earth's long wave radiation at higher altitudes

  
• Prevailing winds


  The direction which the wind normally blows from, affecting temperature and moisture levels
• The south-westerly winds in Britain travel across the Atlantic, cooling the air in summer and warming it in winter
• Cloud cover


  Clouds decrease the amount of heat (insolation) reaching the surface by reflecting some of it, and also reduce the amount of insolation leaving the surface by absorbing the radiation

  
• Aspect


  The direction that a slope faces, with south facing slopes being warmer than north facing slopes in the northern hemisphere
• Sea breeze


  A wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass, developing due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land
• Land breeze


  The reverse of a sea breeze, flowing from the land towards the sea after sunset as the land cools more quickly than the water
• Equatorial climate


  Also referred to as tropical rainforest climate, a tropical climate usually (but not always) found along the equator, characterised by high temperatures all year round, heavy rainfall which is usually convectional and excess humidity
• Places with an equatorial climate lie within 10° North and South of the Equator
• The main areas with equatorial climate are large drainage basins of the Amazon in South America and Congo in Africa