Transcript Climate
Climate Factors Cy Woods World Geography 2012-2013 What is climate? • Climate – what is the weather generally like there? – Climate is weather over a long period of time What is the climate of Texas? Siberia? Sahara Desert? Amazon Rainforest? Chicago, Illinois? Elevation • Elevation: the distance above sea level – How high is the location? – The higher in elevation you are, the colder it is. That’s why people who climb Mt. Everest have to wear heavy coats Mt. Fuji, Japan Notice that the top of most tall mountain peaks is covered with snow, and the base is not. Factors influencing climate • 4 major factors can influence climate – Elevation Latitude Wind Systems and Ocean Currents Continentality Elevation • Mountains can affect climate greatly – Wet clouds cool as they move up a side of a mountain, eventually getting heavy enough to begin to snow. – The clouds then become dry as the move over to the other side of the mountain, leaving that side more like a desert. The term for the dry side of the mountain is called? Things that impact climate • Elevation • 3 zones – Low, Middle (Temperate), High – Low Latitude – Tropics • Low numbers (0° - 23.5° N & S) – Middle Latitude – Temperate • Mid numbers (23.5° S 60° S & 23.5° N - 60° N) – High Latitude – Polar • High numbers (60° S 90° S & 60° N - 90° N) • WHERE DO MOST PEOPLE LIVE? -• Temperate Zones Things that affect Climate LATITUDE Latitude • Which latitudes get the most precipitation? Which climate zone would that be? Wind Currents • Wind currents move cold and warm air around the earth • Low pressure air & high pressure air For thousands of years, ship travel was dependent on the wind and ocean currents. Why does the Great Plains of the USA have more tornadoes than any place in the world? The cold wind currents from the Rockies clash with the warm wind currents from the Gulf of Mexico. Ocean Currents • Act like rivers of water flowing through the ocean – Pushes cold or warm water around the earth • Ocean currents affect the high or low pressure that determines winds – Ocean & wind currents work together Things that impact climate • Wind and Ocean Currents North Atlantic Drift Continentality • Proximity to the ocean: – Areas closer to the ocean have more of a constant year round temperature, whether hot or cold – Areas farther away from the ocean experience more extremes in variation of temperature • It gets really hot in summer, then really cold in winter • This is called CONTINENTALITY! – Russia and Midwest US are two examples of this Things that impact climate • Continentality Assignment • Look up your three assigned cities around the world. Explain as much about their climate as possible using only the maps on pg. A2-A5 and the information from the climate map on page 60. • Write down, based on the factors discussed what the climate of these cities might be like. GROUP A 1. London 2. Kinshasa, Dem Rep of Congo (Africa) 3. Bombay GROUP C 1. Rome 2. Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) 3. Tokyo GROUP B 1. Seattle 2. Moscow 3. Sydney GROUP D 1. Brazillia, Brazil 2. Beijing, China 3. Chicago, Illinois GROUP E 1. Lima, Peru 2. Miami, Florida 3. Ouogadougou, Burkina Faso