Transcript Climate vs. Weather

Climate vs. Weather
And
Factors that Affect Climate
What is the difference between
weather and climate?
Weather: The day to day characteristics of atmospheric conditions
over a short period of time, in a local area. Otherwise, what you
get.
Elements of Weather:
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Air temperature
Air pressure (decreases with elevation)
Wind (moving air)
Humidity (moisture in air)
Precipitation (rain, snow, hail, etc…)
Cloud Cover
Climate: The pattern of atmospheric conditions that takes place
over a large area and over a long period of time. Otherwise, what
you expect.
Factors that Affect Climate
These factors affect climate all over the world.
Not every factor will always play a role in the
climate where you live.
Latitude
Ocean Currents
Wind and Air Pressure
Elevation
Relief
Near Water
Latitude
• As distance from the equator
(latitude) increases, the suns
rays travel farther and hit the
earth surface at an angle which
spreads the suns energy over a
greater area.
• Therefore, polar regions are
much cooler than tropical
equatorial regions.
Ocean Currents
• Wind blows over ocean currents
on to land
• Warm currents heat the air
above causing a milder wetter
climate
• Cold currents cool the air above
causing cold dry climates, due to
the fact that cold air cannot
evaporate as much water as
warm air.
• Therefore, the warm Alaskan
current causes warm wet climate
and the cold Labrador current
causes cool dry climate.
Wind and Air Pressure
• The weight of air is called
pressure
• Wind is caused by the
differences in pressure
• Warm less dense air rises,
cool more dense air falls
• Therefore, the greater the
differences in pressure, the
stronger the wind blows.
Elevation
• As altitude increases, the
corresponding temperature
of air decreases.
• As warm air rises, its
temperature cools causing
condensation (clouds).
• Therefore, that’s why you
get snow on the top of
mountains.
Relief
• Mountains form a natural
barrier that causes air masses
to rise.
• As air is forced to rise it
expands, it becomes less
dense and cools, leading to
condensation
• Therefore, very wet on the
windward side of mountains
and dry on the leeward side.
Near Water
• Water changes temperature
much slower than land.
• In the summer, water acts as
an air conditioner to keep
temperatures cool.
• In the winter, water acts as a
heater to keep temperatures
warm.
• Therefore, water acts as a
moderator.