Weather and Climate Factors

• Weather is the current state of the atmosphere at a specific location and time, while climate is the condition of the atmosphere in a specific area over an extended period, typically 30 years.
• Weather is temporary and can change quickly, whereas climate describes an average pattern of weather for a specific location.

Factors Affecting Weather

• The five main factors affecting weather are temperature, air pressure, humidity, cloudiness, and wind.

Temperature

• Temperature measures the kinetic energy within the particles of an object, indicating how hot or cold it is.
• Higher kinetic energy means faster particle movement and heat, while lower kinetic energy means slower particle movement and colder temperatures.
• As air temperature increases, the ability of an air mass to absorb water vapor also increases.
• Increased water vapor in the air mass raises the chances of rain and thunderstorms.
• Temperature decreases with height above sea level.
• The collision of air masses with different temperatures affects weather due to density differences.

Air Pressure

• Air pressure is the force applied to an object by the surrounding air.
• It is measured using a barometer, which uses liquid mercury to react to changes in air pressure.
• Air pressure decreases with increasing altitude, leading to lower air pressure and temperature.
• Low-pressure air masses have lower pressure at their core and higher pressure around the edges, causing wind to blow inward, forming clouds and precipitation.
• High-pressure systems have higher pressure at their center and lower pressure around the edges, resulting in sunny conditions.

Humidity

• Humidity measures the amount of water vapor in the air.
• Air masses with high humidity contain high levels of water vapor and feel wet.
• Relative humidity is the percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the total amount it could hold.
• Colder air masses absorb less water vapor than warmer ones.
• Increased water vapor in humid air is associated with severe weather such as thunderstorms and hurricanes.

Cloudiness

• Clouds consist of water droplets or ice crystals floating in the sky and are essential for Earth's weather.
• Condensation forms clouds as rising water vapor cools and sticks to particles in the atmosphere.
• Low-pressure systems usually produce more clouds because they cause air to rise and cool.
• Cloud types vary depending on the atmospheric conditions.
• Large thunderstorm-producing clouds form when the temperature difference between the ground and the air is high, causing warm, moist air to rise and condense rapidly.

Wind

• Wind is the movement of air caused by uneven heating of Earth's surface.
• Air travels from high-pressure to low-pressure areas, causing high and low-pressure systems to move around Earth.
• The speed and direction of the wind depend on the placement of the high and low-pressure air masses.
• The larger the temperature and pressure difference between air masses, the higher the wind speed.
• An anemometer measures wind speed, and a wind vane measures wind direction.
• Faster wind speeds can lead to unpredictable weather changes, especially with greater temperature differences between air masses.