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From Collins Jimu (CIOHS CEO, Founder and
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WEATHER & CLIMATE
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the
degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or
cloudy. ... Weather refers to day-to-day temperature and precipitation
activity, whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric
conditions over longer periods of time.
Where as
Climate is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area.
Weather can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month
or even year-to-year. A region's weather patterns, usually tracked for
at least 30 years, are considered its climate.

Climate isn't the same thing as weather. Weather is the

condition of the atmosphere over a short period of time;
climate is the average course of weather conditions for a
particular location over a period of many years.

The global distribution of climate

Climate describes the temperature, precipitation, and other weather

conditions of a certain area. The climate of an area describes how these
variables may be over a long period, for instance the South of France in the
summer is hot and dry.

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However this is not always the case as there are some days when it is raining
and fairly cool. These daily changes do not affect the overall climate of the
area, and are described as the weather of the area for that day.

The map below shows the main climatic regions of the world:

Factors affecting climate

Many factors affect the climate of different areas around the world. Themain
ones are described below:

Altitude: Temperature falls the higher youare. The loss in temperature is

approximately 10°C for every kilometre yourise. This fall in temperature with
height is due to the fact that the airat higher altitudes is thinner. There are
fewer molecules available to receive and retain heat. Wind chill may also
mean that the temperatures inupland areas are lower than expected.

Aspect: This relates to the direction in which a place is facing. Aspect only

really affects local climate, not global ones. In the Northern Hemisphere,
south facing slopes receive far more sunlight than north facing ones. These
are therefore much better for agriculture and often settlement will locate
there due to the better aspect.

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Distance from the Sea: The sea can have agreat influence over climates in
maritime regions. The sea takes much longer to heat up but retains that heat
far better than the land. Consequently the land is often warmer than the sea
during the day, however the situation is reversed at night.

This means that places like Britain, which are near the sea, have relatively
cool days and warm nights, as well as warm summers and mild winters. The
influence ofthe sea diminishes as you move further inland, for instance to
central Europe, where warmer winters and cooler summers will be
experienced.

Latitude: on global climates. Lines of Latitude are those that run horizontally
around the world. The most famous line of latitude is the Equator. Using the
lines of latitude we can easily divide the world in to specific climatic sections.

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 Between 23.5 South and 23.5 North is the region called thetropics.
These receive the most heat from the sun because itis almost directly
overhead and so the solar radiation does not have to travel through very
much of the atmosphere. It heats a very concentrated area of the surface of
the ground.

 Between 23.5 and 66.5 in both the Northern and Southern

Hemispheres are the temperate regions. These have reasonably hot
summers and mild winters.

 Above 66.5 in both hemispheres are the Polar Regions, which are very

cold. They receive sunlight for only half the year due to the angle of the Earth
on its rotation. During the months when they do have sunlight, it travels to
them at a very shallow angle, meaning that it has to travel through a lot of
the atmosphere and has to heat a wide area of the surface.

Ocean Currents: Many areas beside the sea are affected by ocean currents.
These can be either warm or cold currents. The United Kingdom is directly in
the path of the Gulf Stream and the Northern Atlantic Stream, which bring
warm water from the Caribbean across the Atlantic to our shores. This
current alone is the reason why our climate is mild compared to places of
similar latitude like Newfoundland.

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Prevailing Winds: The prevailing (most common) wind in the United Kingdom
comes form the South West. If a prevailing wind travels over a warm surface
it will bring warm weather, whilst if it travels over a cold surface it will bring
cold weather.

The south-westerly winds in Britain travel across the Atlantic. In the summer
this means that the air is cooled, whilst in the winter the water warms the air,
bringing warmer winters than we might expect.

How the world's climate has changed

Our climate is continually changing. There is evidence for this change, for example from fossils,
which tell us that at certain times the world has been much warmer than it is now, and there was
little ice on the North Pole. There is also evidence to suggest that at other times the ice cover was
much greater than it is today.

Evidence is collected by:

 Weather recordings - Thermometers are more accurate now and digital readings can be
recorded remotely.
 Ice cores - Locked inside ice are molecules and trapped air, which are preserved year on year
with more snowfall. Subtle changes in temperature can be measured from ice cores extracted in
Antarctica.
 Rocks and fossils - These can be studied for information covering longer time periods. For
instance, limestone found in Yorkshire would have been formed on the bottom of a warm seabed
millions of years ago.
 Analysis of pollen and trees.
Other observations confirm evidence that the climate is changing:

 Ice cover - Areas such as Greenland and the Arctic have seen thinning of ice sheets.
 Glacial retreat - Photos show that many mountain glaciers have retreated in the last 50 years.
However this could partly be due to a lack of snowfall.
Since about 1950 there is evidence of a steep climb in global temperature compared to the past.
This trend is called global warming.

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 NASA GISS, 2013

For the last 10,000 years our climate has averaged about 14°C globally. However in the last 100
years, as the graph above shows, our climate has started to change rapidly.

 Increases in temperatures have been recorded on land and in the oceans.

 Changes to the rainfall pattern have been observed. These are sometimes more extreme (which
means that locations are either a lot wetter or a lot drier than they used to be). At other times the
rainfall pattern is out of season. The extreme rainfall in the UK during the summer of 2007 is an
example of this. However, in general, UK summers are getting drier and winters are getting wetter.
 The lengths of seasons are changing - The UK growing season is lengthening.

Why is the world's climate changing?

There are natural changes in our climate. These are caused by:

 variations in the energy from the sun

 the way the earth orbits the sun

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 the way oceans transfer heat from one area to another
 volcanic activity (dust particles released in an eruption can disrupt the atmosphere)
Humans also cause changes to our climate. The biggest contributor is gas released into the
atmosphere from cars and burning fossil fuels. MEDCs contribute the most in carbon dioxide.
Other gases such as methane (produced from cow dung, decaying landfill and peat bogs) also
contribute to climate change.

Effects of Climate Change

Agriculture

 Crop yields are expected to decrease for all major world crops.

 Agricultural land on the edge of deserts becomes unusable, through the process
of desertification.
 Crops could be wiped out in low-lying areas that suffer from flooding. With less crops available
on the world market, prices are likely to increase.
 The growing season in some areas will increase. This is a benefit to places such as the UK as
more crops could be grown.

Sea level changes

 Coastal land is at risk, especially land on deltas.

 Sea defences are under more stress.
 Low-lying land is threatened so the lives of 80 million people across the globe are threatened.

Water and ice

 More mass movement can occur as glaciers melt.

 Communities that use the meltwater from glaciers may see this supply decrease. This is
especially the case in Asia.
 Economies that rely on skiing as a form of income may suffer as the skiing season is reduced or
disappears through lack of snow.
 Locations suffering from water stress will increase in number.
 Less fresh water will be available in coastal areas as it will mix with sea water, which is salty.

Population

 People will migrate from areas suffering drought. Any that remain will be in danger of dying
from starvation and lack of water.
 17 million people in Bangladesh alone will be threatened by flooding.

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 As the world population increases, more people will be living in cities located on the coast. More
people will be affected by coastal flooding as a result.

Drought
Droughts occur when a long period of abnormally dry weather leads to a severe water shortage. Droughts are also often
caused by the activity of humans and can have devastating effects.

Human activities causing drought

Human activities that can help trigger droughts include:

 Widespread cutting down of trees for fuel - This reduces the soil’s ability to hold water - drying
out the ground, triggering desertification and leading to drought.
 Constructing a dam on a large river - This may help provide electricity and water to irrigate
farmland near the reservoir. However, it may also cause drought downstream by severely reducing
the flow of water.

Effects of drought

 Droughts endanger lives and livelihoods through thirst, hunger (due to crops dying from lack of
water) and the spread of disease.
 Millions of people died in the 20th century due to severe drought and famines. One of the worst
hit areas was the Sahel region of Africa, which covers parts of Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Sudan.
 Droughts and famines can have other geographical impacts. If drought forces people to migrate
to a new home it could put pressure on resources in neighbouring countries.
 Droughts can have a severe impact on MEDCs as well as LEDCs. Droughts have caused deaths in
Europe in recent years - especially amongst the elderly. In the UK in summer 2006, there were hose-
pipe bans and campaigns to make people save water.

Types of Rainfall

There are three main types of rainfall that occur

frequently and depend on a variety of factors.

Relief Rainfall

This type of rainfall is common in places with mountains

and sea. Relief rainfall frequently occurs near mountains

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beside the sea. The moisture-laden wind blows in from
the sea because the wind meets a high mountain and
hence it is forced to rise upwards. At the height, it is
cooled and then the cloud is formed.

This saturated cloud with water vapor begins to

precipitate on the side of the mountain facing the sea.
This front side of the mountain is called the windward
side.

The cloud mostly precipitates on the windward side of

the mountain. Meanwhile, the cloud meets the other side,
which is called the leeward side. Since the cloud has
already lost most of its moisture so it rains very little
there.

This makes leeward sides of a mountain very little rains.

There is a much more moist climate on the windward
sides of slopes. On the other hand, there is a more dry,
sheltered climate on the leeward side. This rainfall is
common in Hawaii, Sierra Nevada, and the Andes.

Convectional Rainfall

Suppose we are enjoying the rays of sunshine and

suddenly, the sky gets darker with the grey cloud.
Without any warning the heavens open and it begins to

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rain, with a thundery feel. This is the convectional rain. It
occurs frequently on hot days usually giving cumulus
cloud and thundery showers.

The sun heats the ground which causes the air to warm
and become very hot. Then the air rises upwards and
becomes cool. Then it condenses to form cumulus cloud.

When this cloud is saturated, it begins to precipitate

giving heavy and thundery showers. Due to this, we get
thundershowers on a hot day, as the Sun warms the air
and it rises, cools and begins to rain.

Frontal Rainfall

This rainfall occurs when a warm, tropical air mass

comes in contact with a cold, polar air mass. It is very
common in Britain and Ireland. Because the air is in the
warm front, then it rises over the cold front. The air is
cooled and so condenses to form a stratus cloud. Thus
when the stratus cloud becomes saturated, it begins to
precipitate.

Climatic and Environmental Problems

Acid rain

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Causes: Sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides emitted from power stations
are carried by the wind. They either fall to earth as dry deposits or are
converted to acids and fall mixed with water droplets as acid rain.

Pollution from Britain and other areas of Europe has caused huge amounts
of damage in Scandinavian and Eastern European countries.

Effects: Lakes and rivers have been contaminated killing fish and plant life.
The water may also end up being drunk by humans. Forests have been
destroyed, with trees losing all their needles due to alack of nutrients and
resistance to disease. Soils have become more acidic, making them poorer
for farming purposes. Buildings can also be affected by the chemicals being
dropped on them.

Global warming

Causes: the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The most

common of these, making up 56% of the contributory gases, is carbon
dioxide.

Carbon dioxide is produced by power stations, vehicles, even animals

breathing. Trees and plants can convert it back to oxygen, however large
scale deforestation of areas such as the Amazon rainforest has led to an
increased amount of the gas in the atmosphere.

Other gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (23%), methane (14%) and nitrous

oxides (7%) also contribute to the layer of pollutants that is encircling the
world. These gases allow the radiation from the sun to enter the atmosphere
but then do not allow enough of it to leave, causing the atmosphere to heat
up.

Effects:  The increasing temperature of the atmosphere could have some

devastating results for the Earth. The polar ice caps and glaciers around the
world will melt (they already are showing signs of doing this), creating more
water. This could flood huge areas of coastline throughout the world. Some

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low-lying islands could disappear altogether and the map of the world would
be drastically altered.

World climatic patterns may be altered, meaning previously warm areas

could experience bitterly cold winters, and other previously cold areas may
become uncommonly warm.

It has been suggested that Britain might actually become colder as the Gulf
Stream may move away from our shores.

The ozone hole

Causes: Ozone is the gas in the atmosphere that prevents harmful ultra-

violet rays from affecting us. These are the rays that will cause you to get a
sun tan, but could also burn you or cause skin cancer in later life.

Holes in the ozone layer have been found over both Poles. They grow and
shrink throughout the year, depending on the season, but are in general
increasing in size.

The chemical responsible for the destruction of the ozone is chlorine, which
is released into the atmosphere as chlorofluorocarbons. It is commonly
used in aerosols and the cooling system of fridges.

Effects: The primary effects to humans arethe increased danger of skin

cancer, and a possible reduction in immunity from disease. Two countries
most in danger are Australia and New Zealand, who have two of the highest
rates of skin cancer in the world. They have introduced massive advertising
campaigns to try to get people to be careful in the sun.

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