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| Climate means the average weather conditions in a particular location. The climate in a particular part of the world will influence its vegetation and wildlife. |
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| Global climate zones with similar flora, fauna and climate are called biomes. |
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| Weather describes the condition of the atmosphere. It might be sunny, hot, windy or cloudy, raining or snowing.The weather takes into account the temperature, precipitation, humidityand atmospheric pressure of the part of atmosphere (air) closest to the surface of the earth. |
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| Within a climatic region, the climate may vary from place to place - eg the top of a hill, the sunny side of a hill, the shaded side of a hill and the bottom of a hill. These areas with their small variations are called microclimates. |
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| The science of monitoring and studying the atmosphere and predicting its weather and climate is called meteorology. People who study the weather and climate are known as meteorologists. |
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GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF CLIMATE
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| Climates are influenced by many factors, such as proximity to the equator or the poles and proximity to the sea, as well as things like ocean currents, atmospheric pressure belts and prevailing winds.A place's climate influences the types of vegetation and animals that live there. It is possible to divide the world into a number of climatic zones or biomes each with its own characteristic climate, vegetation and wildlife. |
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Term
LATITUDE OR DISTANCE FROM THE EQUATOR |
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Definition
| Temperatures drop the further an area is from the equator, due to the curvature of the earth. In areas closer to the poles, sunlight has a larger area of atmosphere to pass through and the sun is at a lower angle in the sky. As a result, more energy is lost and temperatures are cooler. |
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| Albedo is a measure of how much sunlight a surface reflects. |
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ALTIDUDE OR HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LEVEL |
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Definition
| Locations at a higher altitude have colder temperatures. Temperature usually decreases by 1° C for every 100m in altitude. |
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| Oceans heat up and cool down much more slowly than land. This means that coastal locations tend to be cooler in summer and warmer in winter than places inland at the same latitude and altitude. Glasgow, for example, is at a similar latitude to Moscow, but is much milder. |
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Britain has a maritime climate. A warm ocean current called the North Atlantic Drift keeps Britain warmer and wetter than places in continental Europe. |
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| The prevailing wind is the most frequent wind direction a location experiences. In Britain the prevailing wind is from the southwest, which brings warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean. This contributes to the frequent rainfall. When prevailing winds blow over land areas, it can contribute to creating desert climates. |
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Latitude is the distance a place is from the equator. Low latitudes are near the equator, whereas higher latitudes are further away from the equator.
Altitude is a measure of an areas height from sea level or ground level. |
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| In meteorological terms, a depression is an area of low air pressure. |
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| Climate graphs show average rainfall and temperatures typically experienced in a particular location. The temperature is shown on a line graph, and rainfall on a bar graph. They are usually represented on the same set of axes with the months of the year along the base. |
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INTERPRETING AND DESCRIBING A CLIMATE GRAPH
[image]
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Look at the shape of the graph. Is the temperature line steep or gentle? Does it change throughout the year and/or look almost flat?
Look for extremes – quote the highest and lowest temperature and rainfall and the month in which it occurs. Remember to quote units, eg Celsius or millimetres.
Can you identify the seasons when most rain or least rain falls? Or when the highest and lowest temperatures are experienced?
Work out the temperature range by subtracting the lowest figure from the highest figure.
Add the rainfall totals for each month together to work out the total annual rainfall. |
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