Download Climate

• What is the climate like in Houston?
• What is the weather like in Houston?
Climate Factors
Cy Woods
World Geography
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?
Factors influencing climate
• 4 major factors can influence climate
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Latitude
Elevation
Wind Systems and Ocean Currents
Continentality
Latitude
• 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)
• Most people live in the
Temperate zones
Latitude
• Which latitudes get the most
precipitation?
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.
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?
Rain Shadow
Things that impact climate
• Elevation
Wind Currents
• wind currents
move cold and
warm air around
the earth
• Low pressure air
& high pressure
air
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
Earth-Sun Relationships
• Weather conditions and climate are
impacted by the annual changes in
Earth-Sun relationships.
Earth-Sun Relationships
• Earth-Sun Relationships determine the
seasons around the world.
Seasons
• The seasons are
related to the
Earth’s tilt and
revolution.
• Some locations
receive more direct
sun rays because
of the Earth’s tilt.
Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of
Capricorn
• These are the points
farthest north and
south of the equator
that the Sun’s rays
shine directly
overhead at noon.
Seasons
Impact of Earth-Sun
Relationships
• If hurricanes form over warm water,
when would you expect to see
hurricanes impacting the U.S.?
Seasons
• When does Summer start for the
Southern Hemisphere?
Assignment
• Pick 3 cities around the world. None from
the U.S. and explain as much about their
climate as possible using only the maps in
your Atlas.
• Write down, based on the factors discussed
what the climate of these cities might be like.