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Understanding Climate Influences

Climate is shaped by several factors including latitude, winds, mountains, and ocean currents. Higher latitudes closer to the poles receive less direct sunlight and have cooler climates than regions near the equator. Winds originating over land are drier than those from over water. Mountains cause air to cool and rain on one side, leaving a rain shadow with little precipitation on the other side. Ocean currents also influence climate, such as warm currents off northern Europe that make temperatures there warmer. Climate is defined as average weather over many years, not just daily changes.

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Ja'Nyla Long-Myers
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6 views1 page

Understanding Climate Influences

Climate is shaped by several factors including latitude, winds, mountains, and ocean currents. Higher latitudes closer to the poles receive less direct sunlight and have cooler climates than regions near the equator. Winds originating over land are drier than those from over water. Mountains cause air to cool and rain on one side, leaving a rain shadow with little precipitation on the other side. Ocean currents also influence climate, such as warm currents off northern Europe that make temperatures there warmer. Climate is defined as average weather over many years, not just daily changes.

Uploaded by

Ja'Nyla Long-Myers
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Clinvate

By Cindy Grigg

Light bluc (lc.€crtregions, (la'Å•crblue


grasslands. brou•n (at bottopn)'ncans tetnperate
around it .s•hcnes•
regions. darker purple (each side) shouts .suhtropical clitnate regions.
light purplc (at top) shows tropical cli'nalc' areas, and stnall area
turquoisc bluc at top right shou•s equatorial clipnate area.
Climate is the avcragc weather in a place over a long time. Many
things shape the climate of a place. One thing is latitude. Latitude is a
measure of thc distance from the equator. Iligher latitudes are closer to
the North or South Pole. There, the sun's rays are less direct than at the
equator, The sun's cncrgy is spread out over a larger area. There the
land and ocean don't get as much of the sun's heat. The way the M'inds
blow is another thing that shapes the climate. If the wind starts out over
water, it carries more moisture. If winds begin over land, the air mass
is dryer. If the winds begin at high latitudes, the air masses are colder.
Winds that start out in the tropics carry warrner air. Mountains affect
the climate of a place. Rising air cools as it nnoves up a mountain. Rain falls. On the other side, the air is dry.
That side of the mountain gets little rain. This is called the rain shadow effect. Ocean currents also shape the
climate of a place. Warm ocean currents move from near the equator to the colder north. They heat the air. This
makes the climate warmer along the coast of northern Europe, for one example. Weather changes from day to day.
Climate is the average weather over a nurnber of years. Many things shape the climate of a place.

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