Q1.
What creates those different climates?
Answer
Many factors, working together. Some are general ones — on the scale of the planet — while others are regional or even local. The chapter examines five of them.
| # | Factor | Scale | The rule in one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| a) | Latitude | Planetary | Low latitudes are warm, high latitudes are cold, because of the angle of the sun's rays |
| b) | Altitude | Regional | Temperature falls as height above sea level rises |
| c) | Proximity to the sea | Regional | The sea moderates temperature; inland places are more extreme |
| d) | Winds | Regional | Winds carry heat, cold and moisture from far away |
| e) | Topography | Regional and local | Mountains block winds or force them to rise and rain |
The chapter is careful to add, in ‘Putting it all together…’, that the climate of any region is determined collectively by all the above factors. Describing a climate means describing the patterns of temperature, precipitation (rain or snowfall, fog or mist) and wind conditions in a region over three decades or more.
Did you know? On a very small scale these factors can produce a microclimate — a climate localised in a small area that differs from the region around it, like an enclosed valley, a forest, or an ‘urban heat island’ where concrete traps heat and there is little vegetation.