weather and climate rainfall Flashcards
what is rainfall
refers to the amount of rain that an area receives over a period of time
too little leads to shortage of water
and too much leads to floods
how is rainfall data measured
measured with rain gauge
rain gauge
consists of a funnel that collects and channel rainwater into a container
collected water emptied after 24h and measured using a measuring cylinder
measured in mm/cm
rain gauge appearance
has an outer casing
copper cylinder
metal funnel which goes into a glass bottle
there is also a measuring cylinder needed
where should rain gauge be placed
open area
no obstruction e.g. buildings,trees
to prevent water collected on top of buildings from dripping into rain gauge to prevent inaccurate readings
daily rainfall
amount of rain that falls over 24h rain collected using rain gauge
monthly rainfall
total amount of rainwater collected throughout the month.add up daily rainfall to obtain this
annual rainfall
total amount of rainwater collected throughout the year. add up monthly rainfall to obtain this
what is wind
wind refers to the movement of air over the surface of the earth
when warm air rises, cool air rushes in as wind
wind direction
direction wind is blowing from’
shown by a freely moving pointer on a wind vane
where to place wind vane
high,opne place such as rooftop where there is little obstruction to the flow of the wind
tropical climate
countries between tropic of cancer and capricorn, near the equator. consists of spore, malaysia, brazil,kenya(south africa)
high temp 20-30 as suns rays are more intense nearer to the equator as sunis almost directly overhead at equator and receive almost same amount of sunlight all year(no seasons)
high annual rainfall(1000-2000) as high temp lead to high rate of evaporation and more rainfall
temperate climate
countries between tropic of cancer and arctic circle and between tropic of capricorn and antarctic circle.countries are korea,japan,uk and usa
receives different amount of sunlight in different periods of the year.temps vary greatly throughout the yar hence prescence of seasons. summer-high temp of 34.winter-0 and below
rainfall is moderate (300-1000)mm
polar climate
countries between arctic circle, north pole and between antarctic circle and the south pole. countries are arctic, antarctica, northern canada, siberia
only summer and winter and summers are much cooler than summer in tropical areas
very low temps throughout the year even in summer (below 0) as suns rays are least intense at the poles due to the curved nature of the earth and heat is spread over a large area
is very dry as it lacks water vapour for the formation of clouds and rain or snow
