Climate

Climate and Its Causes

• Many factors influence the climate of a region, all of them somehow related to the region's position.
• Latitude determines how much solar energy a particular place receives during a day or a year.
• Latitude is directly related to location within one of the global wind belts, therefore latitude determines if a location is beneath a high or low pressure cell, where winds are low.
• If a region is near a large water body, its climate will be influenced by that water body.
• Mountain ranges can separate land areas from the oceans and can create rainshadow effects, which also influence climate.

World Climates

• A climate zone depends on a region's latitude, continental position, and relationship to prevailing winds, large water bodies, and mountains, among other factors.
• The temperature, rainfall, length of dry season, and other features of the climate zone determine which plants can grow.
• When living organisms develop in similar climates, they must adapt to that same environment. So the organisms in similar climate zones resemble each other, no matter how geographically distant they are. Because the organisms are so similar, a climate zone and its organisms make up a biome.

Climate Change

• Climate has changed throughout Earth's history. In general, when greenhouse gas levels are high, temperature is high.
• Greenhouse gases are now increasing due to human activities, especially fossil fuel use.
• We are already seeing the effects of these rising greenhouse gases in higher temperatures and changes to physical and biological systems.
• Society must choose to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or face more serious consequences.