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Factors Affecting Climate: 1. Distance From The Sea (Continentality)

The document discusses five key factors that affect climate: 1) Proximity to oceans and seas, with coastal areas experiencing cooler and wetter climates than inland areas. 2) Ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream, which keeps western Europe warmer than other regions at similar latitudes. 3) Prevailing wind directions, with Britain's southwestern winds typically bringing cool, mild, and wet weather. 4) Topography, as mountains receive more rainfall than lowlands and altitude affects temperature. 5) Latitude, with polar regions experiencing greater temperature variation and seasonality than equatorial areas due to the sun's angle.

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369 views2 pages

Factors Affecting Climate: 1. Distance From The Sea (Continentality)

The document discusses five key factors that affect climate: 1) Proximity to oceans and seas, with coastal areas experiencing cooler and wetter climates than inland areas. 2) Ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream, which keeps western Europe warmer than other regions at similar latitudes. 3) Prevailing wind directions, with Britain's southwestern winds typically bringing cool, mild, and wet weather. 4) Topography, as mountains receive more rainfall than lowlands and altitude affects temperature. 5) Latitude, with polar regions experiencing greater temperature variation and seasonality than equatorial areas due to the sun's angle.

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OVP ECA
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© © All Rights Reserved
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FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE

1. DISTANCE FROM THE SEA (CONTINENTALITY)


The sea affects the climate of a place. Coastal areas are cooler and wetter than inland areas. Clouds
form when warm air from inland areas meets cool air from the sea. The center of continents are
subject to a large range of temperatures. In the summer, temperatures can be very hot and dry as
moisture from the sea evaporates before it reaches the center of the land mass.
2. OCEAN CURRENTS
Ocean currents can increase or reduce temperatures. The diagram below shows the ocean currents
of the world. The main ocean current that affects the UK is the Gulf Stream.

The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current in the North Atlantic flowing from the Gulf of Mexico,
northeast along the U.S coast, and from there to the British Isles.

The Gulf of Mexico has higher air temperatures than Britain as it is closer to the equator. This
means that the air coming from the Gulf of Mexico to Britain is also warm. However, the air is

Factors Affecting Climate. Environmental Change Network. (2013, June 5). http://www.ecn.ac.uk/what-we-
do/education/tutorials-weather-climate/climate/factors-affecting-climate.
also quite moist as it travels over the Atlantic Ocean. This is one reason why Britain often receives
wet weather.

The Gulf Stream keeps the west coast of Europe free from ice in the winter and, in the summer,
warmer than other places of a similar latitude.
3. DIRECTION OF PREVAILING WINDS
Winds that blow from the sea often bring rain to the coast and
dry weather to inland areas. Winds that blow to Britain from
warm inland areas such as Africa will be warm and dry. Winds
that blow to Britain from inland areas such as central Europe will
be cold and dry in winter. Britain's prevailing (i.e. most
frequently experienced) winds come from a south westerly
direction over the Atlantic. These winds are cool in the summer,
mild in the winter and tend to bring wet weather.
4. THE SHAPE OF THE LAND
Climate can be affected by mountains.
Mountains receive more rainfall than low
lying areas because as air is forced over the
higher ground it cools, causing moist air to
condense and fall out as rainfall.

The higher the place is above sea level the


colder it will be. This happens because as
altitude increases, air becomes thinner and is
less able to absorb and retain heat. That is
why you may see snow on the top of mountains all year round.
5. DISTANCE FROM THE EQUATOR
The distance from the equator affects the climate of a place. At the poles, energy from the sun
reaches the Earth's surface at lower angles and passes through a thicker layer of atmosphere than
at the equator. This means the climate is cooler further from the Equator. The poles also
experience the greatest difference between summer and winter day lengths: in the summer there
is a period when the sun does not set at the poles; conversely the poles also experience a period of
total darkness during winter. In contrast, daylength varies little at the equator.

Factors Affecting Climate. Environmental Change Network. (2013, June 5). http://www.ecn.ac.uk/what-we-
do/education/tutorials-weather-climate/climate/factors-affecting-climate.

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