Distance from the Equator

The angle of incidence of the midday sun in the tropics near the Equator is
always high and the temperature is therefore also always high.
The further away you are from the tropics, the lower the angle of incidence of
the midday sun and the correspondingly lower temperatures.

Distance from the sea

The sun's heat is absorbed and released more slowly by water than by land.
The ocean is a liquid, and therefore less dense than the solid soil on land.
The ocean can therefore be heated deeper.
This means that it takes longer for the ocean to heat up and longer to cool
than the land.
The sea retains heat longer than the land and cools more slowly in the winter
than the land does.
Places close to the sea are cooler in summer and warmer in winter than
inland places which have hotter summers and colder winters.
This effect can be seen on hot days at the beach.
The sea sand is much warmer than the water, just a few meters further in.
Climates where the temperature is influenced by the sea are called maritime
climates, where places deep inland are called continental climates.
Altitude above sea level

The sun's rays heat the Earth's surface, which then releases the heat into the
air above the Earth.
Water vapour, pollution and dust in the air prevent the heat from escaping
back into space.
High above sea level, the air is less dense and contains less water vapor,
pollution and dust.
This means that the heat from the Earth's surface is lost quickly and therefore
the temperature is low.
In hot deserts, the lack of water vapour in the atmosphere causes the Earth's
surface to become extremely hot during the day.
In the evening, the heat quickly escapes back into the atmosphere causing it
to be very cold in deserts in the evenings, with a large difference between day
and night temperatures.
The rate at which the temperature decreases as altitude increases varies, but
is an average of 2°C for every 300 m.
Sea currents

Warm and cold ocean currents cause the temperature of the land surfaces to
rise or fall as the winds blow from the sea to the land where.
Warm currents flowing towards the poles carry warm water to the colder areas
and the effects of this heating are most noticeable in the area at the mid
latitudes from 40° to 60° on the western side of continents.
The warm ocean currents in tropical areas have little effect on temperatures
because the areas are always warm.
Cold ocean currents have a smaller effect because they usually occur in
areas with seaward winds, but they do have an effect on rainfall and cause
deserts.
Coastal deserts usually occur on the western edge of continents near the
Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.
They are influenced by cold ocean currents that run parallel to the coast.
Cold oceans provide very little moisture, while the warm land evaporates what
little moisture there is.
Cold oceans provide very little moisture, while the warm land evaporates what
little moisture there is.
In the Atacama, 1 mm of rain falls only 1 time every 5 to 20 years.
It is the Earth's driest desert.
The cold Benguela Current on the west coast of South Africa and Namibia
caused the Namib Desert.

Mountains: relief

The front of a slope is known as the face and it also affects the temperature.
In the southern hemisphere, south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the sun is
always on the north side.
Consequently, north-facing slopes are warmer than south-facing slopes.
View has little influence at places in the tropics because the sun's angle of
incidence is always high at noon.
 High above sea level, the sun has a low incidence angle and in winter the
view of a field or house is therefore important.
In countries such as Europe (such as Norway and Sweden) that lie far from
the Equator, little farming takes place on the colder, northern slopes.
In South Africa, houses with a north view are always warmer than houses with
a south view.
Forests usually occur on the south-facing slopes where it is cooler.
There is less evaporation on these slopes, which means that there is moisture
available for the trees.
Mountains also have an effect on rainfall.
For rain to fall, moist air must be cooled so that condensation can occur and
water vapour can be turned into water.
When moist air is forced to rise over mountains, it cools and it will rain if
condensation occurs.
If the air is cold enough, it may snow.
South Africa's highest rainfall occurs in the mountainous areas of Limpopo,
KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
As the air descends on the other side of the mountain, it becomes warmer
and therefore no condensation can occur which then causes a rain shadow.

The main physical features of South Africa are: the plateau, the rivers and the
mountains of the Southern and Western Cape.
Much information can be obtained about a places climate from climate graphs
and knowledge of the factors that affect temperature.
Usually more than one factor causes temperature and rainfall characteristics.

How Latitude affects temperature in South Africa

Durban and Cape Town are both at sea level.

 Durban is warmer than Cape Town because Durban is closer to the Equator
than Cape Town.
Durban is also heated by the Agulas ocean current while the cold Benguela
ocean current flows past Cape Town.

How altitude affects temperatures in South Africa

Durban and Johannesburg are roughly on the same latitude, but

Johannesburg is colder than Durban.
Johannesburg is located approximately 1800 m above sea level, while Durban
is located at sea level.
Durban is warmer than Johannesburg because the air high above sea level is
less dense.

Distance from the sea

How distance from the sea affects temperature can be seen in places' annual
temperature changes.
Uppington (15°C) and Victoria West (15.8°C) are both located inland and
have a higher temperature variation than Nolloth (3.9°C) and Durban (7.2°C)
which are located on the coast.

Mountains and rainfall

Cape Town's rainfall is 508 mm per year while in places higher up in the
mountains less than 50 km away, it rains around 2000 mm per year.
Difference between weather and climate

Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere and the short-term

differences between those conditions.
Weather is the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloud
cover, and wind, and the short-term differences between these elements
within minutes to weeks.
Climate is defined as statistical weather information that describes the change
in the weather in a certain place for a certain period of time.
It is the average weather of a place over a long period of time, usually 30
years.

Elements of weather – temperature, humidity, winds and precipitation

Element Description How it is Unit of measure

measured
Precipitation Moisture from the With a rain gauge. Millimeters (mm)
air, such as rain
and snow.
Temperature How hot or cold it With a Degrees Celsius
is. thermometer. (°C)
Wind speed How hard the wind With an Knots or
blows. anemometer. kilometers per
hour.
Wind direction From which With a wind sock / Points of the
direction the wind wind cock. compass.
blows.
Humidity The amount of With a hygrometer. Relative humidity.
water vapour in
the air.

Climate regions of the world

Equatorial climate

Location

This climate is found in low-lying areas between 5°N and 5°S in the Amazon
Basin and Congo River Basin.
Temperature and rainfall characteristics

As these areas are located so close to

the Equator, there are no seasons and
there is little difference between the
hottest and coldest months.
The daily temperature variation is usually
between 2°C and 5°C which is more than
the annual temperature variation of 2°C.
In parts of Africa and South America, temperatures are lower due to altitude.
Average daily temperatures are around 26°C, which is lower than in places
away from the Equator because the cloud cover and high rainfall keep
temperatures down.
Heavy rain occurs and usually there are thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Savanna climate

Location

The savanna area lies between 5°N and 15°N and 5°S.
The savanna is best developed in Africa and South America.

Temperature and rainfall

The summer is hot with temperatures

of around 32°C.
The winter is cooler at around 20°C.
Just like the equatorial regions,
temperatures are affected by altitude.
Rainfall varies from about 900 mm near
the Equatorial regions to about 600
mm.
Almost all the rain falls in the summer.
The vegetation of the savanna areas is
a mixture of trees and grass.
The lack of rain in winter causes the grass to die and turn brown only to turn
green again when the rains come.

Desert climate

Location

The desert climates are found on the western side of continents from about
20°S and 25°S to 20°N and 25°N.
The exception is the desert areas of North Africa which extend across Africa
to south-west Asia because the rain-bearing winds blow over the land and are
dry.
 The main deserts are the Namib, Sahara,
Australian, Californian and Atacama
deserts.

Rainfall and temperature

The rainfall is rare and the average is

usually below 100 mm per year.
Antofagasta is one of the driest places in
the world with an average rainfall of 4 mm
per year.
These deserts are associated with cold ocean currents which are the cause of
the low rainfall.
Temperatures range from around 30°C in summer to around 20°C in winter.
The lack of clouds causes very high daytime temperatures, up to 50°C, and
much lower night-time temperatures with occasional frosts in winter.

Mediterranean climate

Location

It is found between 30°N and 45°N and

30°S and 40°S on the western sides of
continents.
It is called the Mediterranean climate
because it is found on the Mediterranean
Sea, in the Western Cape, Western and
South Australia, central California and
central Chile.

Temperature and rainfall

Temperatures vary from around 20°C in summer to around 10°C or even

lower in winter.
Rain varies from about 400 mm to 800 mm per year.
Most rain falls in winter while summer is mostly dry.

Tundra climate

Location

The tundra is found north of the Arctic Circle in Canada, Alaska and Siberia.
Temperature and rainfall

Winter temperatures range from -30°C to -

40°C.
In summer it is around 10°C.
The very low temperatures are caused by
the distance from the Equator.
Winters are long and cold with almost no
sunlight.
Summer days are long with almost no
darkness.
Rainfall is low, usually around 10 mm to 300
mm, usually in summer.

Monsoon climate

Location

Monsoon limits are found in south-east Asia between 50°N and 20°N and in
northern Australia between 10°S and 20°S.

Temperature and rainfall

Temperature varies from 34°C in the summer

months to around 15°C in the cooler season.
Temperatures vary greatly with altitude and
places high above sea level are much cooler.
Temperatures up to 45°C with high humidity
are highest just before the rains start when
the heavy cloud cover makes it cooler.
Rainfall varies greatly depending on altitude.
One of the wettest places in the world is
Mawsynram in the foothills of the Himalayas where almost 12,000 mm of rain
falls per year.
It is rain from 12 m.
The rain is seasonal with almost all falling in the summer months and the
winters being dry.

Relationship between climate regions and factors affecting temperature and

rainfall

Latitude location

The Equatorial climate region is warm throughout the year because it is

located near the Equator.
The Tundra is very cold because it is located far from the Equator.
Altitude above sea level

Even places on the Equator can get very cold when it is high above sea level.
Quito, on the Equator, but 2800 m above sea level, has year-round
temperatures of around 14°C.

Cold ocean currents can cause deserts

The Namib Desert was caused by the cold Benguela current.

Distance from the sea

Climate regions that are far from the sea show large differences between
summer and winter temperatures.
The temperature in Verkhoyansk, in the Siberian Tundra, average monthly
temperatures range from −44.7 °C in January to +16.5 °C in July.