What Are the Factors That Impact Weather & Climate?
Weather and climate are two different things. Weather is the mix of events that happen each day in earth's atmosphere including temperature, rainfall and humidity. Climate is the average weather pattern in a region that takes place over years. Weather and climate are both affected by factors like ocean currents, winds, altitude, tilt of the earth and people.
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El Nino
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El Nino is a warm current of water that appears every 3 to 7 years in the Pacific Ocean. It pumps energy and moisture into the atmosphere, altering wind and rainfall patterns. El Nino can be blamed for increased rainfall in California, tornadoes in Florida and forest fires in Brazil.
Altitude
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The higher the altitude the colder the temperature. Mountains usually have much wetter climates than the flatlands surrounding them.
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Currents and Winds
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Ocean currents can increase or decrease temperatures. The Gulf Stream keeps the west coast of Europe free from ice in the winter and warmer in the summer than other places of similar latitude.
Location
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Latitude, vegetation and distance from the sea influence climate and weather. Latitude, or distance from the equator, shapes the climate and weather of an area. The climate is warmer closer to the equator and cooler away from the equator.
Tilt of the Earth
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The earth's axis tilts at 23.5 degrees. One hemisphere leans toward the sun half the year while the other leans away from the sun. This tilting creates seasons on the earth.
Humans Influence Climate
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Fossil fuels have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
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References
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Christian Habisreutinger
