Assignment 2

Introduction to climate change

Submitted by: Maleeha Babur
Submitted to: Maam Ansa
Enrollment no: 01-167211-010
BSES4A

Land and Sea Breeze

Land breeze: blowing breeze from land towards the sea is called a land breeze.
This process takes place for the duration of the night. Both the land and the sea
start cooling down when the sunsets. As the heat capacity of the land is different
from the sea it cools down quicker. Thus, a low-pressure situation develops over
the sea as the temperature above it is higher than land. Due to this, the air flows
from the land to the sea which is termed the land breeze. Land breezes can occur at
any time of year but are more prevalent during the fall and winter seasons when
water temperatures are still fairly warm and nights are cool.

Sea breeze: blowing breeze from sea towards land during the day is called sea
breeze.
During the day, land gets heated up faster than water, while water takes time to get
the same temperature as there is in the land. Hence, the air above the land gets
warmed up and rises, while making a region of low pressure above land.
Comparatively, the air above the sea is cooler and has a higher pressure. Thus,
once the air above the land rises up by convection, it creates a space for the cool
breeze from the sea to flow in. This is called Sea Breeze.
The land and water have different heat absorption and heat retention capacity.
Thus, this makes the air above them lighter or heavy. The heavy and cooler air
flows towards the lighter and hotter air which in turn gives rise to the breeze.
Hence, it is the reason for the occurrence of the land breeze and the sea breeze.
Mountain Winds:
Mountains radiate heat at night, this makes the mountains cool. At this time the
valley is relatively warm. As a result, cold and heavy winds blow down the
mountain. The wind that blows at night towards the bottom of the valley is known
as mountain wind. Impact of mountain wind is that the lower part of the hilly
region becomes relatively cold because of it. As a result, the weather becomes dry
and as the night progresses, its intensity gradually increases. Naturally, this type of
wind-affected mountain is relatively sparsely populated.

Valley Winds:
Due to the slope of the land, a special kind of wind flow is created in the mountain
areas. During the day the mountains are warmer than the bottom of the valley. This
causes high pressure at the bottom of the valley and low pressure at the side of the
mountain. For this reason, the wind that blows upwards through the mountain
during the day is called valley wind. Impact of valley wind is that due to the effect
of valley wind, the upper part of the mountain region is relatively warm, which
makes the weather pleasant and comfortable. Therefore, the population is relatively
high in the upper part of such wind-affected mountains.

Mountain and valley winds are caused by the temperature gradient between two
adjacent areas. In other words, a measurement of high temperature is place side by
side to a place of low temperature, leading to a difference in pressure. This
difference in pressure forms the wind, which we feel on our skin.
The Mountain wind is warmer and more humid than the valley wind, and it also
brings in more moisture and precipitation. Valley wind on the other hand is more
relaxed and drier, and it has brief increase in its speed that can cause gusty
weather. The Valley wind is often responsible for the fogs during the colder
months. Both winds play role in distributing plants and animals. Mountain ranges
tend to have a higher concentration of plants that are resistant to cold. In
comparison, valleys have a higher concentration of perennial plants (plants that
lives more than two years) to tolerate cold weather.