World Geography Climates Climates of the world
Jan 21, 2016
World Geography Climates
Climates of the world
Warm up
• List as many climates as you can think of.
Climate
• Climate– Is the term for weather
conditions at a particular location over a period of time
Climate
Wind Currents
• Convection– The transfer of heat in the atmosphere by
upward motion of air
Ocean Currents
• Currents are like rivers flowing in the ocean, moving in circular patterns– Warm water flows away from the equator and cold
water flows away from the poles to the equator
Tropical Wet
• Region has very little temperature variation.– Usually in the 80’s– Days are sunny to begin
with but turn cloudy in the afternoon.
– Average about 80 inches of rain a year.
– Central and South America, Africa and Aisa
Tropical Wet and Dry
• This is called “wet and dry” because the subregion has a rainy season in summer and a dry season in winter.– Rainfall is less than in
the tropical wet.– Next to tropical wet
climates– Central and South
America, Africa, and Asia
Semiarid
• Subregion does receive precipitation, just not very much– About 16 inches a year– Summers are hot– Winters are mild to cold
and may get snow– This area is found on the
6 main continents
Desert
• Deserts are categorized according to the amount of rainfall, rather than landforms.– Can be hot or cold– Less than 10 inches of
rain a year– Temperature drops at
night because the air can not hold the heat
Mediterranean
• This land is named for the land around the Mediterranean Sea where it is located– It also exist elsewhere
like the west coast of the U.S.
– Hot and dry summer– Winters cool and rainy– Support a dense
population
Marine West Coast
• Is located close to the ocean and is frequently cloudy, foggy and damp.– Winds of the ocean keep
the temperature relatively constant.
– Rain is spread evenly throughout the year
– West Coast United States, Canada, and West Coast Europe
Humid Subtropics
• Long period of summer heat and humidity characterize the humid subtropics– Found on East Coast of
Continents (southeast U.S. Coast and China)
– Prone to hurricanes– Winters are mild, good for
raising crops– Rice crops flourish in these
tropics
Humid Continental
• A great variety in temperature and precipitation characterizes this climate– Found interior continents– Upper northern
hemisphere continents– Can see all four seasons.– Get arctic air masses
collide with tropic air masses.
Subarctic
• Evergreen forests called taiga cover the lands in the subarctic region– Big temperature
variations from summer to winter
– Cool summers– Cold and snowy winter– Below freezing
temperatures 5 to 8 months of the year
Tundra
• The flat Treeless lands forming a ring around the Artic Ocean .– Very little precipitation
falls here (less than 15 inches a year)
– Northern Hemisphere– Permafrost- subsoil is
frozen year round– Summer last for only a
few weeks a year
Highlands
• Varies with latitude, elevation other topography and continental location– Weather can vary based
on such factors as whether a slope faces north or south, or exposed to winds carrying moisture.