WEATHER

AND
CLIMATE

WEATHER

What is weather?

Weather generally refers to day-to-day temperature

andprecipitationactivity.
Thestateoftheatmosphereatagiventimeandplace,
withrespecttovariablessuchastemperature,moisture,win
d velocity,andbarometricpressure.

What causes weather?

Because the Earth is round and not flat, the Sun's rays don't
fall evenly on the land and oceans. The Sun shines more
directly near the equator bringing these areas more warmth.
However, the Polar Regions are at such an angle to the Sun
that they get little or no sunlight during the winter, causing
colder temperatures.

CLIMATE

What is climate?

Climate (fromAncient Greekklima, meaninginclination) is

commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period.The
standard averaging period is 30years
The climate of a location is affected by itslatitude,terrain,
andaltitude, as well as nearbywater bodiesand their currents.

BETWEEN
CLIMATE AND
WEATHER
The difference between weather and
climate is a measure of time. Weather is
what conditions of the atmosphere are
over a short period of time, and climate is
how the atmosphere "behaves" over
relatively long periods of time.

LATITUDE
What is latitude?

Latitudedescribes the location of a place north or south of

the equator. A line connecting all the points with the same
latitude value is called a line of latitude.
Latitude has a big effect on climate because latitude controls
how much solar energya location receives. The tropics, which
are places on or near the equator, are warm all year long
because they get about the same amount of sunlight during
the year. The Polar Regions, which include places at or near
the poles, have a cold climate and don't get much (if any)
sunlight on winter days. The area between the tropics and the
poles is called the mid-latitudes. The mid-latitudes have
several different seasons during the year because the amount
of sunlight changes from summer to winter.

FACTORS
AFFECTING
CLIMATE

ALTITUDE VS
ELEVATION

Altitude height of object at a point of reference

Elevation height of object above sea level

NOTE: The definition of Altitude is the same as

Elevation, the only difference is the point of reference.

As the Altitude increases, the air temperature drops

For every 1000 meters, there is a temperature drop of
6.5C
Higher Elevations Less Air air spread further apart
less dense
Light Air cannot absorb much heat making air
temperature lower
Decrease of air pressure less heat generated Lower
air temperature

HEAT
CAPACITY
Water
-transparent fluid which forms the world's oceans and rain,
and is the major constituent of the fluids of organisms

Heat capacity
- amount of heat required to raise the temperature of an
object or substance one degree.

AFFECT
CLIMATE?

Soil absorbs heat faster than water.

Water has higher heat capacity.

Bodies of water regulate the temperature

Average Temperatures
Moscow: 21 Celsius at Maximum and -8 Celsius
at Minimum
British: 17 Celsius at Maximum and 0 Celsius at
Minimum

TOPOGRAPHY

TOPOGRAPHY
What is topography?

It came from the Greek words topos and

graphia.
The description of the physical features of a
place.

AFFECTS RAIN
DEPOSITS
Topographic barriers such as mountains force
prevailing winds up and over their slopes. As
air rises, it cools. Cool air is capable of holding
less water vapour than warmer air, depositing
rain or snow on windward slopes. This creates
an effect known as the Rain Shadow on their
leeward (sheltered) sides, where the air contains
very little moisture. This results to the
formation of deserts.

CLIMATE
CHANGE

CLIMATE
CHANGE
What is climate change?

Climate change is the long-term change in average weather

conditions, including temperature, precipitation and wind.

Key points:
Climate scientists reconstruct the Earths climate history by
studying proxy records including ice cores, corals, and tree
rings. These records show natural variability in the Earths
climate such as distinct colder glacial periods and warmer
interglacial periods.

CLIMATE
RECORD
Climate scientists glean information about past
climates by studying ice cores, sediments from
the ocean, corals, tree rings and the geological
record. From these proxy records, they
reconstruct Earths climate history and compare
climate changes of the past with observations of
recent climate changes and the projections of
climate change in the twenty-first century.

GREENHOUSE
EFFECT
What is greenhouse effect?

Thegreenhouse effectis the process by which radiation from

a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a
temperature above what it would be in the absence of its
atmosphere.

Greenhouse Gases
Water vapor, 3670%
Carbon dioxide, 926%
Methane, 49%
Ozone, 37%

EL NIO
AND LA
NIA

EL NIO
What is El Nio?

El Nio meansThe Little Boy, orChrist Childin Spanish

The term El Nio refers to the large-scale ocean-atmosphere
climate interaction linked to a periodic warming in sea
surface temperatures across the central and east-central
Equatorial Pacific.
Typical El Nio effects are likely to develop over North
America during the upcoming winter season. The presence of
El Nio can significantly influence weather patterns, ocean
conditions, and marine fisheries across large portions of the
globe for an extended period of time.

El Nio, warmer than average waters in the

Eastern equatorial Pacific (shown in orange on
the map), affects weather around the world.

EFFECTS OF EL
NIO

LA NIA
What is La Nia?

La Nia meansThe Little Girlin Spanish. La Nia is also

sometimes calledEl Viejo,anti-El Nio, or simply "a cold
event.
La Nia episodes represent periods of below-average sea
surface temperatures across the east-central Equatorial
Pacific. Global climate La Nia impacts tend to be opposite
those of El Nio impacts. In the tropics, ocean temperature
variations in La Nia also tend to be opposite those of El
Nio.
During a La Nia year, winter temperatures are warmer than
normal in the Southeast and cooler than normal in the
Northwest.

LA NIA

El Nio and La Nia are opposite phases of what is known as

theEl Nio-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) cycle. The ENSO
cycle is a scientific term that describes the fluctuations in
temperature between the ocean and atmosphere in the eastcentral Equatorial Pacific (approximately between the
International Date Line and 120 degrees West).
La Nia is sometimes referred to as thecold phaseof ENSO
and El Nio as thewarm phaseof ENSO. These deviations
from normal surface temperatures can have large-scale
impacts not only on ocean processes, but also on
globalweather and climate.
El Nio and La Nia episodes typically last nine to 12
months, but some prolonged events may last for years. While
their frequency can be quite irregular, El Nio and La Nia
events occur on average every two to seven years. Typically, El
Nio occurs more frequently than La Nia.

LA NIA