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62 Earth

FIND OUT MORE. Mountains 45 • Planet Earth 36–37 • Soil 48 • Winds 51

Every part of the world has its own

climate – a characteristic pattern of

weather over a long period of time.

A region’s climate affects the types

of plants and animals found there,

and also how people live – for

example, the type of houses they

build and the clothes they wear.

WHAT IS A CONTINENTAL CLIMATE?

Regions in the centre of continents usually have

more extreme weather than regions near the coast,

with hot summers and cold winters. Land surfaces

heat up and cool down more quickly than large

areas of water, such as oceans. Areas farther inland

therefore experience extreme temperature variations

between summer and winter.

WHAT AFFECTS AN AREA’S CLIMATE?

An area’s climate is affected by three main factors – its

latitude (distance north or south of the Equator),

its height above sea level, and its distance from

the sea. Tropical regions around the Equator have a

hot climate. Temperatures cool towards the poles. The

climate is also cooler on high mountains. Seas and

oceans generally make coastal climates mild and wet.

WHY DO TROPICAL REGIONS HAVE HOT CLIMATES?

Because the Earth is a globe with a curved surface,

the Sun’s rays strike parts of its surface at different

angles. Regions on or near the Equator have a hot

climate because the Sun’s rays beat down on them

more directly and the rays are more concentrated

than at regions near the poles.

1 GLOBAL TEMPERATURES

This map of air temperatures shows the world’s three main climate

zones. The warmest tropical regions on and near the Equator are shown

in deep red and orange. Temperate regions farther from the Equator are

shown in yellow. These areas are usually mild, with warm summers and

cool winters. The coldest areas, near the poles, are shown in blue.

4 COASTAL CLIMATE

The ocean heats up more slowly than the land, but retains its warmth

for longer. Moist sea breezes rising over the ocean and blowing inshore

bring rain, cooling the land in summer, but warming it in winter, so

coastal climates are generally wet and mild.

1 MOUNTAIN CLIMATE

Mountain regions have a cooler climate than lowland areas because the

thin air at high altitudes absorbs less of the Sun’s heat. High peaks in

the path of moist winds are also wetter than lowland regions.

Climate

Rain-bearing clouds blowing

from the ocean make coastal

regions generally wetter than

areas farther inland

Growing cumulus clouds

indicate changeable weather,

characteristic of coastal, or

maritime, climates

Trees bend towards the land, battered

by strong winds blowing in off the

sea and the salt spray that burns off

the growth on the seaward side

Vegetation flourishes in the

mild, wet climate

Snow and ice cover regions

above the snow line, which is

at sea level at the poles and

up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

near the Equator

Conifer forests cover high

slopes up to the tree line –

above that it is too cold and

windy for them to survive

Hardy alpine plants, mosses,

and lichens grow up to the

snowline, above the tree line

climate