1. Climate Factors

2. What is climate? Climate – what is the weather generally like there?
Climate is weather over a long period of time
What is the climate of Michigan?
Siberia?
Amazon Rainforest?
Chicago, Illinois?
Sahara Desert?

3. Factors influencing climate
4 major factors can influence climate
Elevation
Latitude
Wind Systems and Ocean Currents
Continentality

4. Latitude 3 zones – Low, Middle (Temperate), High
Low Latitude – Tropics
Low numbers (0° ° N & S)
Middle Latitude – Temperate
Mid numbers (23.5° S - 60° S & 23.5° N - 60° N)
High Latitude – Polar
High numbers (60° S - 90° S & 60° N - 90° N)
Most people live in the Temperate zones

5. Latitude
Which latitudes get the most precipitation?

6. Elevation Elevation: the distance above sea level
How high is the location?
The higher in elevation you are, the colder it is.
That’s why people who climb Mt. Everest have to wear heavy coats
Mt. Fuji, Japan
Notice that the top of most tall mountain peaks is covered with snow, and the base is not.

7. The term for the dry side of the mountain is called?
Elevation
Mountains can affect climate greatly
Wet clouds cool as they move up a side of a mountain, eventually getting heavy enough to begin to snow.
The clouds then become dry as the move over to the other side of the mountain, leaving that side more like a desert.
The term for the dry side of the mountain is called?
Rain Shadow

8. Things that impact climate
Elevation

9. Wind Currents wind currents move cold and warm air around the earth
Low pressure air & high pressure air

10. Ocean Currents Act like rivers of water flowing through the ocean
Pushes cold or warm water around the earth
Ocean currents affect the high or low pressure that determines winds
Ocean & wind currents work together

11. Things that impact climate
Wind and Ocean Currents
North Atlantic Drift

12. Continentality Proximity to the ocean: This is called CONTINENTALITY!
Areas closer to the ocean have more of a constant year round temperature, whether hot or cold
Areas farther away from the ocean experience more extremes in variation of temperature
It gets really hot in summer, then really cold in winter
This is called CONTINENTALITY!
Russia and Midwest US are two examples of this

13. Things that impact climate
Continentality

14. Daily Question
Pick 3 cities around the world. None from the U.S. and explain as much about their climate as possible using only the maps on in your atlas and the information from your notes.
Write down, based on the factors discussed what the climate of these cities might be like.