CLIMATE AND WEATHER: CHARACTERISTICS, ELEMENTS AND FACTORS

Weather and Climate

Characteristics, elements and factors

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What are the characteristics of weather and climate?

Weather

The atmosphere is composed of air that surrounds planet Earth

The layer that is in contact with the Earth's surface is the troposphere.

Troposphere is where life develops.

What are the characteristics of weather and climate?

Climate

To determine the climate, data need to be recorded for many decades.

To be able to define a region's climate numerous observations need to be recorded about the following elements: temperature, pressure, winds, humidity and precipitation.

Atmospheric phenomena

• Atmospheric phenomena are the manifestation of natural events in a given location.
• This events occur in the troposphere and determine the weather of a specific place.

Climate factors

These are the set of atmospheric and geographic conditions that determine the different types of climates. The main factors are:

• The movement of the Earth (rotational and orbital movement)
• Altitude
• Latitude
• Ocean currents
• Topography
• Distance from the oceans

Composition of air

• Air is a mixture of atmospheric gases that cover the Earth by the effects of gravity.
• It is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, zone, carbon, dioxide, hydrogen and other gases.

The properties of air are:

• Physical properties
• Chemical properties

Altitude and atmospheric pressure

Altitude and adaptations

Atmospheric pressure

Temperature

Wind

Wind is produced in the troposphere due to natural causes:

• The movement of the Earth (rotation and revolution)
• Solar radiation differences
• Varied atmospheric pressure in the planet's regions

Ocean Currents

• There are warm and cold currents.
• The warm ones produce higher water evaporation which causes more clouds and increased rainfall. An example of this is the El Niño.
• This current causes a lot of rain.