Saturday, 9 February 2013

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Partido State University

College of Education

Goa, Camarines Sur


christamaysolo_16@yahoo.com
FEbruary 9, 2013
Christa may V. Solo


Weather and climate

"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. "
Mark Twain 

More Mark Twain Quotes 

Weather - is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place over a short period of time. For example, on a particular day in Singapore, the weather is warm in the afternoon. But later in the day, when there are clouds blocking Sun's rays, the weather would become cooler.
While weather describes the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time, climate refers to the weather pattern of a place over a long period, long enough to yield meaningful averages. For example, although the weather in Singapore may be cool and dry today, Singapore's climate is hot and wet.

Elements of Weather and Climate

  • There are several elements that make up the weather and climate of a place. The major of these elements are five: temperature, pressure, wind, humidity and rain. Analysis of these elements can provide the basis for forecasting weather.
  • These same elements make also the basis of climatology study, of course, within a different time scale rather than it does in meteorology.
Ø  Temperature is a physical quantity that indicates degrees of hot and cold on a numerical scale.[1] It refers to states of matter or radiation in a local region. It is measured by a thermometer, which may be calibrated to a variety of temperature scales
Ø  Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space. Winds are commonly classified by their spatial scale, their speed, the types of forces that cause them, the regions in which they occur, and their effect. The strongest observed winds on a planet in our solar system occur on Neptune and Saturn.
Ø  Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. Water vapor is the gas phase of water and is invisible.[1] Humidity indicates the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog. Higher humidity reduces the effectiveness of sweating in cooling the body by reducing the rate of evaporation of moisture from the skin. This effect is calculated in a heat index table, used during summer weather.
        There are three main measurements of humidity: absolute, relative and specific. Absolute  humidity is the water content of air.[2] Relative humidity, expressed as a percent, measures the current absolute humidity relative to the maximum for that air pressure and temperature. Specific humidity is a ratio of the water vapor content of the mixture to the total air content on a mass basis.

Ø  Rain is liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then precipitated—that is, become heavy enough to fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides suitable conditions for many types of ecosystem, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation.

 




 
 

Factors Affecting Weather & Climate

1.     Latitude and Altitude

o    Latitude, or how far one is from the equator, greatly affects the climate and weather of an area. If you live close to the equator, the climate will be warmer, while moving north or south from the equator brings a cooler climate. Altitude, or how high one is above sea level, has a similar effect--the higher the elevation, the colder the climate.

2.     Proximity to the Ocean

o    Land and water retain different amounts of heat. Land heats more quickly than water, but water holds heat longer. Proximity to water moderates the climate, while inland climates are harsher. Those living near the water will experience breezy, moist weather, when the warm air from the land meets the cooler air from the water and and rises, making for a windy climate with precipitation. The further inland one goes, the drier the climate in most regions.

       3. Mountains

o    Mountain areas are generally colder than surrounding land due to higher altitudes. Mountainous regions block the flow of air masses, which rise to pass over the higher terrain. The rising air is cooled, which causes condensation of water vapor, and precipitation. These being the case, one side of a mountain, the windward side, will often have more precipitation and vegetation; the leeward side is often drier.

4. Vegetation

o    Just as climate determines the types of vegetation in a given region, to a certain extent vegetation can contribute to a region's weather. Hot and wet climates in the tropics, for instance, develop rainforests; the more trees and plants there are, the more water vapor in the atmosphere and the moister and cooler the area. Along the same line, dry climates will often enable the growth of grasslands or savannas with little water vapor to contribute to the atmosphere, maintaining drier weather patterns.

5. Earth's Tilt

o    Since Earth's axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees, we have seasons. One hemisphere leans toward the sun half the year while the other leans away, and then the situation reverses. Though the climates of the Earth's regions (tropical, temperate, or polar) remain the same no matter the season, the weather is affect.
           
Climate change- is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors that include oceanic processes (such as oceanic circulation), variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions, and human-induced alterations of the natural world; these latter effects are currently causing global warming, and "climate change" is often used to describe human-specific impacts.



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