CLIMATE

• This refers to the average weather conditions experienced at a place

for a long period of time of about 30 – 40 years.
• Two major elements of climate are: temperature and rainfall.
• These elements are affected by latitude, distance from the sea, ocean
currents, altitude, winds, cloud cover and pressure.
Factors affecting climate

1 Latitude
• At the equator, the sun is overhead so high intensity insolation is received.
• By contrast, at the poles, the angle of the sun is low so insolation received is low.
• At the equator, insolation is concentrated on a small area but at the poles it is
dispersed over a wide area.
2 Distance from the sea
• Water heats more slowly than land.
• Water also emits heat more slowly than land.
• Therefore, land has higher temperatures during the day while oceans have higher
temperatures at night.
3 Ocean currents

• Warm ocean currents come from equatorial regions to raise the

temperatures of the polar areas.
• Cold ocean currents come from the poles and lower temperatures of
equatorial regions.
• Warm ocean currents promote rainfall formation while cold ocean
currents discourage formation of rainfall.
• Cold ocean currents cool the air above them, reducing the amount of
evaporation from the ocean, and producing dry conditions
4 Altitude

• In general, air temperature decreases with increasing altitude.

• As altitude increases, pressure on the air is reduced and the air
becomes cooler.
• Generally, highland areas have higher rainfall than lowland areas.
5 Cloud cover

• Cloud cover reduces the amount of insolation reaching the surface by

reflecting some of it.
• Clouds also reduce the amount of insolation leaving the surface by
absorbing the radiation.
• If there is limited cloud then incoming shortwave radiation and
outgoing shortwave radiation are at maximum.
• This is the norm in many hot deserts. That is why they have
temperatures during the day and very low temperatures at night.
6 Pressure

• In low pressure systems air is rising.

• It may rise high enough to cool, condense and form clouds and rain.
• This can happen in warm areas, such as equatorial areas (convectional
rainfall), at mountain barriers (relief rainfall) and at weather fronts,
when warm air is forced over cold air (frontal rainfall)
• In contrast, where there is high pressure air is sinking and rain
formation is prevented.
• The world’s hot deserts are located where there is high pressure
caused by sinking air.
Equatorial/ Tropical rainforest climate
Distribution

• This climate is found within the tropics.

• It found in areas along the equator.
• The climate is mostly found between 10° north and 10° south of the
equator.
• Some of the countries which experience this climate are Malaysia,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Colombia, Brazil, Uganda,
Rwanda, Burundi, Indonesia and Singapore.
Climate characteristics

Temperature characteristics
• Temperature is high throughout the year eg around 26°c
• Annual temperature range is very small eg 2 - 4°c.
• Temperature is almost constant throughout the year.
Reasons
• Temperature is high because there are no seasons so the sun is always
overhead throughout the year.
• Temperature range is small because of high cloud cover which reduces
excessive heat loss into outer space hence maintains the temperature.
•
Rainfall characteristics

• Rainfall is received throughout the year.

• Each month of the has rainfall.
• Total annual rainfall is very high above 1000 mm.
Reasons for high rainfall
• High temperatures promote high rates of evaporation.
• Water vapour rises through convection.
• Rising air cools, condenses forming clouds and rain falls.
• Dense vegetation also promotes high rates of transpiration.
• Low pressure also causes air to rise thereby leading to high rainfall.
Rainfall – temperature graph for Maunas (Amazon)- case study
Describe the main features of the climate of Maunas.

• There are high temperatures of about 26–29°C

• Temperatures are constant (there is low or small temperature range).
• There is high annual rainfall of about 1800 to 1900mm
• Rainfall is is received all year round
• Rainfall fluctuates
Give reasons for the climate of an area of tropical rainforest such as Maunas

• High temperatures are due to the high angle of sun’s rays on the equator
and heat is concentrated in a small area
• There is small annual range of temperature due to constant overhead sun
and high cloud cover.
• There is wet climate due water vapour rising through convection leading to
convectional rainfall
• High temperatures lead to high rates of evaporation.
• Transpiration from abundant vegetation also contributes to high rainfall
• Low pressure leads to rising air.
• Rising air cools, condenses leading to loud formation and rainfall.
Natural ecosystems

A natural ecosystem is an area in which plants and

animals live in balance with their environment and are
interlinked with it. The tropical rainforests and tropical
deserts are two of the world’s major ecosystems or
biomes. The diagram below shows the
interrelationships within an ecosystem and how
nutrients are recycled.
How nutrients are recycled
How nutrients are recycled
Plants need nutrients. Some of these nutrients come
from rocks as they are weathered. Leaves fall to the
ground and these decompose and are turned into
humus. Humus is mixed with the soil and then
absorbed by the plant roots. However, some nutrients
are lost due to leaching.
Tropical rainforest ecosystem
Adaptation of vegetation to the hot and wet climate
(relationship between vegetation and climate) – case
study( Amazon)
• The vegetation is dense and evergreen due to high rainfall and high
temperatures.
• Trees are very tall up to 60 metres due to competition for sunlight.
• Trees have developed buttress roots for support in the wet and muddy soils
caused by high rainfall.
• Trees have climbers or lianas which climb up the trees to get sunlight.
• Trees have broad leaves to increase loss of water due to transpiration.
• Leaves have drip tips to facilitate loss of water after heavy rains.
• Trees are found in 3 distinct layers : the under canopy made of trees which
are about 15 metres high, the dense main canopy layer at a height of about
20-30 metres and emergent layer which reaches a height of 60 metres.
• There is little undergrowth due to limited sunlight reaching the ground
because of the main canopy layer
Relationship between vegetation and the
soil
• When trees grow they remove nutrients from the soil- to be returned
later when their leaves fall.
• Leaves decompose rapidly in the wet and hot conditions.
• This adds humus to the top of the soil.
• However, the deep soil below has few nutrients because of leaching.
• Leaching is the washing down of nutrients in solution from the topsoil
by rainwater.
• Trees take up nutrients through their roots, so the shallow buttress
allow the trees to access the nutrients near the surface.
Animals in the tropical rainforest ecosystem

• The rainforest has a rich and diverse animal life.

• This is because the rainforest provides a variety of habitats and
abundance of vegetation for food.
• Examples of animals living on the forest floors are elephants, deer,
rhinoceros. In the middle levels, species of monkey, squirrel, frog,
lizard and tree climbing big cats are found. But it is in the emergent
layer that 80% of the animals live.
The value of tropical rainforests for
people
• Many medicines to combat illnesses have been derived from tropical
rainforests plants eg quinine from the chinchona tree of Africa and
Central America is used to cure malaria.
• Tropical forests provide timber for construction and furniture, fuel for
local people and raw material for industry.
• They also boost the local and national economies by attracting
tourists.
• The rainforests provide a home for many native people.
• The forests also provide food such as honey and wild fruits for the
natives.
The importance of tropical rainforests for the environment

• Soil erosion is reduced because the roots hold the soil in place.
• The large leaves lessen raindrop impact on the by intercepting them.
• The roots also take up water from the soil – reducing chances of mud
flows down the slope.
• Rivers are kept healthy for aquatic life since forests stop soil from
being washed into rivers.
• Trees promote high rates of transpiration which result in high rainfall
to provide the necessary water for the ecosystem.
• The forests act as a carbon sink since they take in carbon dioxide
during photosynthesis they by reducing enhanced global warming.
For a named area of tropical rainforest which you have studied, describe the ways in
which it benefits people.
Case study : The Amazon eg Brazil

There are many benefits of the rainforests for people who live
in the Amazon. Tribal groups such as Erigbaagtsa provide food
for themselves by hunting and gathering. Rubber tapping
takes place in areas close to the Amazon river and latex is
exported from Maunas. The forests convert carbon dioxide
into oxygen and this has reduced enhanced global warming.
There are various species of hardwoods such as mahogany are
logged and exported for uses such as furniture and paper
manufacture. Trees promote high rates of transpiration which
result in high rainfall to provide the necessary water for the
ecosystem and the people.
Causes of large scale deforestation of tropical rainforest

• The rainforests are being exploited by multi-national companies to

provide raw materials such as timber for their industries. Population
pressure also contribute to deforestation of the rainforests. Forests
are cleared for mining, farming, road construction, timber logging and
construction of settlements.
Effects of deforestation

• Animal habitats are lost.

• Some animals become extinct.
• Food chains are broken.
• Biodiversity is lost.
• Soil erosion increases.
• Rivers are silted due to erosion.
• Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase leading to global
warming.
• Transpiration is reduced leading reduced rainfall.