Weather and Climate

• Topic 3 covers weather and climate

Weather

• Weather describes a mix of events like temperature, rainfall, and humidity in the atmosphere.
• Weather refers to the atmospheric condition over a short period, such as a day.
• Weather can be hot, dry, sunny, cloudy, raining, or snowing.
• Meteorologists record and predict weather events.

Climate

• Climate indicates long-run average weather patterns over years.
• Climate denotes how cold or hot a place is over a long period.
• Climate is affected by latitude, altitude, and oceans.
• Latitude is how far a place is from the equator, and closer equates to hotter temperatures than further away.
• Altitude is how high a place is above sea level, and higher equates to cooler temperatures.
• Oceans do not change temperature as quickly as land areas.
• Precipitation, in the form of rain, snow, or sleet, determines climate.
• An area with little precipitation has a dry or arid climate.

Climatic Zone of the World

• 3 basic climate zones include tropical, temperate, and polar.
• The tropical climate zone is hot all year long.
• The temperate climate zone has warm summers and cold winters.
• The polar climate zone has very cold winters and cool to cold summers.

Tropical Wet Climate

• A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics with mean temperatures above 18 °C every month.
• Temperatures in a tropical climate remain relatively constant throughout the year.
• Seasonal variations are dominated by precipitation.
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is an example of an area with Tropical Wet Climate.
• Belém, Brazil, is an example of an area with Tropical Wet Climate.
• Iquitos, Peru, is an example of an area with Tropical Wet Climate.
• The Amazon Basin in South America is an example of an area with Tropical Wet Climate.
• Hilo, Hawaii in the United States, is an example of an area with Tropical Wet Climate
• Georgetown, Guyana is an example of an area with Tropical Wet Climate
• The Congo Basin, Congo is an example of an area with Tropical Wet Climate

Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah

• These climates have a pronounced dry season.
• The driest month usually has less than 60 mm of precipitation, as well precipitation is usually less than (100 – [total annual precipitation {mm}/25]).
• Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate
• Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate
• Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate
• Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate
• Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate
• Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate
• Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate
• Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, is an example of an area with the Tropical Wet and Dry/Savannah climate

Dry Climate: Arid

• A region is considered arid when it has a severe lack of available water.
• The lack of water hinders the growth and development of plant and animal life.
• Environments with arid climates tend to lack vegetation.
• Arid environments are called xeric or desertic.
• Yuma, Arizona, in the United States, is an example of an arid region
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is an example of an arid region

Dry Climate: Semi Arid

• Semi-arid climates tend to support short or scrubby vegetation.
• Semi-arid areas are typically dominated by either grasses or shrubs.
• Konya, Turkey is an example of a Semi-Arid Climate area.
• Murcia, Spain is an example of a Semi-Arid Climate area.
• Albacete, Spain is an example of a Semi-Arid Climate area.
• Almería, Spain is an example of a Semi-Arid Climate area.

Moderate: Mediterranean

• Typical climates of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin are part of a subtropical climate,
• The largest area worldwide is considered to have a Mediterranean climate.
• The climate is characterized by warm to hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters.
• Major cities like Athens, Barcelona, Beirut, and Jerusalem reside within a Mediterranean Climate Zone

Moderate: Humid Sub-Tropical

• A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone with hot, humid summers and cool winters.
• Humid subtropical climates are on the southeast side of all continents.
• They reside generally between latitudes 25° and 40° north and south.
• The Po Valley of Italy, which includes Venice, is an example of a humid sub-tropical climate.

Moderate: Marine West Coast

• This climate is on the west coast of mid-latitude continents.
• This climate is very humid through most of the year.
• Westerly winds from the ocean bring cloudy skies, much precipitation, and mild temperatures.
• The distribution of the climate is greatly influenced by the orientation of mountain systems in North America and Europe.

Continental: Humid Continental

• These climates have large seasonal temperature differences.
• They have warm to hot and often humid summers.
• They have cold or severely cold winters.
• These climates are found above 40° N latitude, and within the central and northeastern portions of North America, Europe, and Asia.

Continental: Subarctic

• This climate is found characterized by long, usually very cold winters and short, cool to mild summers.
• This climate is found on large landmasses.
• Also found away from the moderating effects of an ocean.
• It's generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N pole ward of the humid continental climates.
• This type of climate offers the most extreme seasonal temperature variations found on the planet.
• In winter it can be -40°C (-40°F) and above+30 °C (86 °F).

Polar: Tundra

• The tundra is a bleak and treeless place with it almost always being cold.
• The summer is brief with milder climates with the sund shining almost 24 hours a day.
• Summer has been called "the land of the midnight sun".
• The short summer can lasts only 6–10 weeks and almost never gets warmer than 45°F or 50°F.
• The latitude range for the tundra is from the arctic circle to 60° to 70° latitude North.
• You can find it in northern Europe and Alaska as well as parts of Russia and Canada.

Polar: IceCap

• An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50,000 km² of land area usually covering a highland area.
• Ice caps aren't constrained by topographical features but their dome is centered on the highest point of a massif.
• Vatnajökull is an example of a famous one in Iceland.

Polar: Highland

• Highland climates are cool to cold, found in mountains and high plateaus.
• Climates can change rapidly on mountains, becoming colder with altitude.
• The climate of a highland area is closely related to the climate of the surrounding biome.
• Highlands share the same seasons and wet and dry periods as the surrounding biome.

Change of Season

• Seasons change on or around the 21st of four months: June, September, December, and March.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, December begins winter, March brings on spring, June means summer, and September brings autumn.
• In the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite is true.
• In the Southern Hemisphere, December starts summer, March is the beginning of fall, June starts the winter season, and September brings spring.