PATETUK LRMER

T EMP E R A T U R E
OJ ETBLG
G L O B E
MATOETHLRPES
A T M O S P H E R E
GBALEGON LRMA
GL OBA L WA R M I N G
WEATHER IS:
• Short term
• Limited area
• Can change rapidly
• Difficult to predict

WEATHER is what’s
happening outside your
window right now.
CLIMATE is the average
of many years of
weather observation. CLIMATE IS:

• Long term
• Wide area
• Seasonal
changes
• Measured over
long spans of
time
 What is climate?
• Climate is the average weather
conditions over a long period of time
– Includes average temperatures and
precipitation, wind patterns, humidity,
air pressure
• Weather is what it is NOW, climate
is what it SHOULD BE.
 How is this different from
“weather”?

• Weather changes day to day.

• Weather can fall inside normal ranges
or outside of what is expected from
the climate- “above or below average”
• Climate is the benchmark; what we
expect
Factors that Affect Climate
 Climate Factors
Temperature Factors (LADBWOC!)
•Latitude
•Altitude
•Distance to a Body of Water
•Ocean Currents
Precipitation Factors (TP)
•Topography
•Prevailing Winds
 Objective:
• Explain how latitude
affects the climate
• Q1. How much is the tilt of
the earth’s axis?
• Q2. Which part of the earth
receives most of the sun’s
rays?
• Q3. Why does the amount
of heat receive by places far
from the equator become
less?
• Q4. Why are the coldest places
on earth found near the poles?
• Q5. Why are places with high
temperature found at the
equator?
• Q6. How does latitude affect
climate?
 How does latitude
affect climate?
As latitude ________, the average
annual temperature _________.
Temperature

0° Latitude 90°
 How does Latitude affect
climate? (the angular distance N or S of the
equator)
• Latitude is the most
significant factor for
determining climate
• Warmer at the equator
• Colder at the poles – in
general
• Seasons are
REVERSED between
N. and S. Hemisphere
How does Altitude affect
climate?
• As you go up in
altitude, you go down
in temperature and
sometimes
precipitation
How does the Distance from large
bodies of water affect climate?
• Large bodies of water
regulate temperature due
to water’s properties.
• The ocean thermostat-
keeps it warmer in
winter and cooler in the
summer
– less fluctuation
• Inland climate have more
extreme temperature
fluctuations throughout
the year
 How does latitude
affect climate?
As latitude ________,
increases the average
decreases
annual temperature _________.
Temperature

0° Latitude 90°
• The altitude of a place will affect the air
temperature. Mt. Kilimanjaro is located in
Africa and found near the equator. It
stands 5895m above sea level. The peak
of this mountain is covered by ice. How is
this possible? That’s because the air
temperature decreases as the altitude
increases.
•
 Activity 3.5
Which should I choose,
Windward or Leeward?
Objectives
• differentiate windward and
leeward sides of a high land
• explain how topography affects
climate
• Q1. What happens to water vapor as it rises
over the mountain?
• Q2. Which side of the mountain experiences
low temperature?
• Q3. Which side of the mountain experiences
high temperature?
• Q4.What happens when air becomes warmer
and drier as it moves down the leeward
side?
• Q5. What dry region forms at the back of the
mountain?
• Q6. How does topography affect climate?
 How does topography
affect climate?

cool, moist
Windward Side: ___________
warm, dry
Leeward Side: _____________
• Mountain is an example of topographical features of
the land. As you noticed, the picture shows the two
sides of the mountain. One side is facing the wind
and has low temperature.
• Clouds are forming here due to the condensation of
water vapor. This formation of clouds develops to
become rain. On the other side of the mountain,
there is no cloud formation. The temperature is high
and precipitation does not happen. This results in
the formation of a dry and warm region.
 Which cools and heats faster?

Objectives
•explain how distance from the
ocean affects climate
•compare the effect of heat on
water and land
• Land Breeze takes place
when the air from the sea
moves to the land to
replace warm air in the
land that rises.
• Sea breeze takes place
when air from the land
moves to the sea to
replace warm air in the
sea that rises.
• The climate of the place is
influenced by the
surrounding bodies of water.
Soil absorbs heat faster than
water.
• soil releases heat
faster compared to
water.
• Places that are near the
oceans have moderate
climate as the body of
water regulates the
temperature.
• Even as both soil and water absorb
the same amount of heat, the
temperature of water rises more
slowly than that of soil. Because
soil heats up faster than water, air
temperature above the sea is lower
than above ground during day
time.
• Warm air thus moves out from land
to sea, slowing down the rise of air
temperature above land. Thus,
places without a body of water
nearby tend to have higher air
temperature during day time.
• At night, soil cools down faster
than water, so the air temperature
above ground is lower than that
above the sea. Warm air then
flows from sea to land, so the drop
in air temperature above ground is
moderated.
 • . Places that are far from the
bodies of water have extreme
climates, as there are no
immediate bodies of water that will
help to circulate the movement of
cold and warm air.
• The reason why temperature of
water rises or falls more slowly
than soil is that water has higher
heat capacity. Because of this,
water also absorbs more heat in
warm days and slowly releases it
in cold days.
• That is why during summer, areas
that are near a body of water will
have moderate temperature because
water absorbs more heat. Similarly
during winter, surrounding water
slowly releases heat causing the
cooling effect to become lesser than
normal in the nearby landmass.
How do nearby Ocean Currents affect the
climate?
• Warm and cold ocean currents
bring warm moist air near to
coastal areas.
• However it is moist and
warmer due to the Gulf
Stream, a warm current.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS:
• Q1. What are the different ocean
currents that carry warm water? Give
at least three examples.
• Q2. What are the different ocean
currents that carry cold water? Give at
least three examples.
• Q3. What kind of air does Greenland
Current take along? Explain.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS
• Q4. How do the Kamchatka
Current and Kuroshio Current
affect the northeastern part and
• southern part of Japan?
• Q5. How do ocean currents affect
climate?
 How do ocean currents
affect climate?

Warm Currents: warmer climate

Cold Currents: cooler climate
 How does closeness to a large
body of water affect climate?
moderates the temperature.
Water __________
Cooler summers. _______
_______ Warmer winters.
Cities A & B are located
at the same latitude.
City B is closer to a large
body of water.

Its temperature line is

flatter (moderated).
 How do the Prevailing winds affect
climate? Prevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a
single general direction over a particular point on the Earth's surface.

• Global winds are

generated by the
rotation of the earth and
move air around the
globe.
• Prevailing winds (like
the Trade Winds)
regulate climate
• Winds bring storms, air
masses of different
temps.
How does Topography affect
the climate?
• The lay of the ground
plays an important
role in regulating
climate
• Ex. The windward
side of a coastal
mountain range is
wetter than the
leeward side – rain
shadow effect
 How does the
Orographic Effect
affect climate?
cool, moist
Windward Side: ___________
warm, dry
Leeward Side: _____________
www.olympicrainshadow.com
Other Factors- Plate Tectonics
• Tectonic plates have shifted
across Earth’s surface for
billions of years
• Greenland and Antarctica
used to be tropical
• S. Africa had glaciers
• NJ had volcanoes
• Most of the Western U.S.
was underwater
 Other Factors- Volcanic Eruptions
• Volcanoes can warm AND cool the planet
• Volcanoes emit CO2 which is a
greenhouse gas  global warming
• But volcanoes also emit SO2 and aerosols
(tiny solid particles) that REFLECT
sunlight back into space
– Less radiation reaches Earth  COOLING
% Change in Solar Radiation

www.esrl.noaa.gov
 Ice Ages
• Earth naturally fluctuates between ice
ages and interglacial periods
• ICE AGE- an era of cooler than normal
global temperatures
• INTERGLACIAL PERIOD- era of warmer
than normal temps.
• Scientists claim the next ice age is 50,000
years away
 Other Factors- Astronomy
• Milankovitch Cycles: Flux in Earth’s orbit
and Earth’s axis over long time periods
 What We Know- Facts
• Earth’s climate HAS changed many times
over time naturally
• Our climate IS changing right NOW, but
it’s different than ever documented before
– WHY????

• Humans adding GHGs has warmed the

planet in the past 200 yrs  This is FACT
 Looking at Climatograms
• Your group will get “pairs” of cities to compare
climates
• Write down a list of observations from each graph
for each city: highest temp, highest precip.,
trends, patterns, etc.
• Determine which climate factor is affecting the
climates of these cities and provide at least 1
piece of factual evidence to support your claim.
• You can use Google maps to help locate
Practice- NYC vs. Sydney
 NYC Climate Facts
• Warmest months: June, July, August
• Consistently around 100 mm precip/month
• Coldest months: Dec, Jan, Feb.
• Coastal City (Atlantic Ocean)
• N. Hemisphere: 40.7° N
• Elevation: sea level (0)
Practice- NYC vs. Sydney
 Sydney Climate Facts:
• Warmest months: Dec., Jan, Feb
• Coldest months: May, June, July, Aug
• Precipitation averages to ~100 mm/month
• Coastal city
• Southern Hemisphere: 34° S
• Elevation: sea level
 Which factor?
• Latitude?
• Altitude?
• Distance to Body of Water?
• Ocean Currents?
• Topography?
• Prevailing Winds?
 City Pairs
• Chico, CA vs. Reno, NV
• Norfolk, VA vs. San Francisco, CA
• Estes Park, CO vs. Lincoln, NE
• Boston, MA vs. Minneapolis, MN