Climate, Weather, and Geography

Global temperature increases alter atmospheric circulation and evaporation rates, which directly impacts global rainfall patterns.

The moderating influence decreases and the people experience extreme weather conditions because of increasing distance from the sea. Places which are located on coastal region experience moderate climate as they are affected by land and sea breezes. They are neither too hot nor too cold, e.g. Mumbai, Chennai. Places which are located away from the sea have an extreme climate. They are too hot in summer and too cold in winter, e.g. Delhi, Bhopal.

The generalization of the atmospheric condition over a long period of time is referred to as climate. It is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Following are the factors which influence the climate of any place:

Because the Earth is spherical, solar rays strike the poles at a much lower angle (slanting) compared to the equator, spreading the same amount of energy over a larger area and resulting in less heating.

Isotherms are imaginary lines joining places of equal temperature. For convenience, the temperature are reduced to sea level as if the places actually existed at sea level. The spacing of isotherms indicated the steepness of temperature change. Closely spaced isotherms indicated higher thermal gradient.

In October, the sun's rays move toward the Southern Hemisphere, meaning they fall more vertically on the Southern Hemisphere and more obliquely on the Northern Hemisphere, causing temperatures to drop in the North.

Earth receives solar radiation in the form of short-wave solar radiation, where it converted into heat by the process of absorption. This energy goes back in the form of long-wave terrestrial ration. The earth sends the same amount of energy back to the spacer, except for a small amount of energy stored as fossil fuels.

The places having similar temperature conditions are joined by means of imaginary lines known as isotherms. For convenience, the temperature is reduced to sea level as if the places actually existed at sea level. The isotherms have east-west trends and generally follow the latitude. 

The Köppen climate classification defines a climate as "temperate" when the mean temperature is above −3 °C (26.6 °F) but below 18 °C (64.4 °F) in the coldest month.

This is a characteristic analogy: a cloud is fluffy, and the sun is bright.

The westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between $35^{\circ}$ and $65^{\circ}$ latitude blowing from the west to east. The westerlies are strong especially in the southern hemisphere where there is less land in middle latitudes to cause flow pattern to amplify. The strongest westerly winds southern hemisphere is Roaring Forties which blows between $40^{\circ}$ and $50^{\circ}$ latitudes.

Wind is defined as the perceptible natural movement of the air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction whereas breeze is the gentle wind.

Trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, blowing from the subtropical high-pressure belts (30 degrees N/S) toward the equatorial low-pressure belt.

The subtropical high pressure belt is often called horse latitude. It is situated around $30^o$ Northern and Southern hemisphere.

The winds which change their direction periodically with the change in season are known as periodic winds. They blow at regular intervals. They blow during particular time of the day or year. Localized differences in pressure and temperature are the main cause of periodic winds. For example, land and sea breezes and the seasonal wands.