Download Weather and Climate - Worth County Schools

Climate and
Climate Change
What Causes Climate?
 Climate – The average, year-after-year
conditions of temperature, precipitation,
winds, and clouds in an area.
 Microclimate- climate of a small, specific
place within a larger area
 Microclimate Examples
 Shade under a tree
 A hole in a log where mushrooms grow
What Causes Climate? Vocabulary
 Tropical Zone – The area near the equator,
between about 23.5° north latitude and 23.5°
south latitude.
 Polar Zone – The areas near both poles, from
about 66.5° to 90° north and 66.5° to 90° south
latitudes.
 Temperate Zone – The area between the
tropical and polar zones, from about 23.5° to
66.5° north and 23.5° to 66.5° south latitudes.
What Causes Climate? –
Main Ideas
 The climate of a region is determined by its
temperature and precipitation.
 The main factors that influence temperature
are
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


Latitude
Altitude
distance from large bodies of water
ocean currents.
Climate Regions – Main
Ideas
 Climates are classified according to
temperature and precipitation.
 There are five main climate regions:





tropical rainy
dry
temperate marine
temperate continental
polar
Long-Term Changes in the
Climate
 Ice Age
 Cold time periods in Earth’s history, during
which glaciers covered large parts of the
surface.
Long-Term Changes in the
Climate – Main Ideas
 During each ice age, huge sheets of ice
covered much of Earth’s surface.
 Possible explanations for major climate
changes include:
 movement of continents
 Position of the Earth and Sun
 changes in the sun’s energy output.