Factors that affect climate Flashcards
List four factors that affect the climate.
Latitude (how far north/south of the equator a place is). Due to the curve of the earth, the equator is closer to the sun meaning sun rays are more concentred on places near the equator making it warmer whilst places further away get less and are colder.
Prevailing winds. The moisture and heat depends on where the winds are coming from. If they come from a warm place, it will bring warm air and if it comes from a cold place it will bring cold air.
Distance from the Sea. The sea heats up slowly compared to land and therefore takes longer to loose that heat. In the winter, the sea might be warm as it’s still got the summer warmth. If wind blows over the sea near land, it will bring that warmth to land.
Altitude. As you climb a mountain it gets 1 degree warmer every 100m. This is because the sun heats the ground and the ground heats the air. As you get higher, there’s less ground to heat the air. Also the air pressure is low meaning it spreads out and loses heat.
Why do depressions occur?
A depression occurs when low pressure far out in the Atlantic causes Tropical Maritime Air and Polar Maritime Air to meet, forming Fronts and spiralling air.
What is a depression?
A depression is a low pressure system that usually approach the UK from the west and move east. Winds in a depression blow anti-clockwise. When air gets into the centre of the low pressure it rises. The circular lines show air pressure and are called isobars and show air pressure in millibars.
Explain the processes of a depression.
The warm air is pushed eastwards and is forced to rise gently over the colder air. As it rises it condenses to form a band of steady rain which arrives before the warm air is felt.
The cold air is pushing hard into the warm air which causes the warm lighter air to rise, causing tall clouds and heavy rain.
As a depression begins to die the cold front catches up with the warm front and lifts the warm airmass off the ground. (Occluded front). It will remain cold but there’ll be heavy rain.
