Climate is the pattern of weather a place has over a long period of time. People who study climate are called climatologists. What do these scientists look for when they study a region’s climate? Some of what they measure include average rainfall, sunshine, winds, and temperature. They also look at how each weather condition changes from month to month and year to year. For example, are there cold and hot seasons in the region? Or do the temperatures stay pretty much the same all year long? Does it rain more during certain months than others?
There are five big factors that can make climates vary from place to place. How does each factorinfluence temperature or rainfall?
1. Latitude: This is the distance of a place north or south from the equator. The closer a region is to the equator, the hotter it is on average all year long. The farther away it is, the cooler it is.
2. Altitude: This is the height of a place above sea level. Higher elevations tend to be colder than lower elevations.
3. Distance from Oceans and Large Lakes: Water rises and drops in temperature more slowly than land. Areas near water tend to have milder winters and cooler summers than places at the same latitude that are away from water. 4. Mountain Ranges: Air cannot go through mountains. Instead, it rises and cools as it travels up the side of a mountain. The cool air causes water in the air to cool. Then the water falls as rain, which removes most of the water. All of the rain stays on the same side of the mountain! The other side of the mountain is drier and may even become as dry as a desert.
5. Wind: Several major belts of wind blow around the earth. They blow from different directions. As they do, they distribute cool air, heat, and moisture to different parts of the world.
The world is divided into different climate zones based on similar weather patterns. The weather patterns in a climate zone affect the types of vegetation and animals found there. For example, roses could never survive at the South Pole, which has an icecap climate. It is too cold there. Penguins could never survive in a region with arid climate. It is very dry there with very hot summers. As a result, places that have similar climates also have similar types of vegetation and animals. People worry that human activity may be changing the global climate, which could cause big problems. The temperature differences between summer and winter may become more extreme for some places. Animals and vegetation may become extinct. Keeping track of climates is important work.