Download userfiles/980/Factors Affecting Climate(2)

Factors
Affecting
Climate
An easy way to
remember…
O-ocean currents
W-wind patterns
E-elevation
L-latitude
L-landforms/water bodies
Ocean Currents
• May be warm or cold
• Either have a cooling effect OR
a warming effect on the land
they pass
• Example: Gulf Stream current
warms western Europe
Wind Patterns
• Low latitudes: Easterly Trade
Winds
–Blow towards equator from 30
degrees N and 30 degrees S
• Mid-Latitudes: Westerlies
• High Latitudes: Polar easterlies
• Equator: Windless area called
the doldrums
ELEVATION
• Air temps decrease with elevation!
• For every 1,000 ft increase in
elevation, the temp drops by 3 ½
degrees.
• Example: Quito, Ecuador
–Elevation of 9,000 ft
–25 degrees cooler than
surrounding areas
LATITUDE
•LOW LATITUDES
•MIDDLE LATITUDES
•HIGH LATITUDES
Low Latitudes
• Located between the Tropic
of Cancer and Tropic of
Capricorn
–(23 ½ degrees north to 23
½ degrees south)
• Direct sunlight year-round
• Very warm/hot climates
Middle Latitudes
• Northern Hemisphere: Tropic
of Cancer to Arctic Circle
• Southern Hemisphere: Tropic
of Capricorn to Antarctic Circle
–(23 ½ degrees N to 66 ½
degrees N)
–(23 ½ degrees S to 66 ½
degrees S)
Middle Latitudes
•Summer: Warm air
•Winter: Cold air
•Temperate climate-ranges
from fairly hot to fairly cold.
•Weather changes
dramatically with seasons
High Latitudes
• Northern Hemisphere: North
Pole to Arctic Circle
• Southern Hemisphere: South
Pole to Antarctic Circle
–66 ½ degrees N to 90 degrees
N
–66 ½ degrees S to 90 degrees S
• Indirect sunlight; cold climate
Landforms/Water Bodies
• Areas located by oceans have
better regulated temperatures
than interior areas because
water is slower to heat and
cool than land is.
• Orographic Effect: rain shadow
on leeward side of mountains