Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

Key Question 1: Why do different places

experience different weather and climate?
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to
Differentiate between weather and climate
Weather
Condition of atmosphere at a particular place and
specific time.
Weather changes day-to-day
EG: it rained yesterday, but it seems
sunny today

Climate
Average condition of the atmosphere of a
particular place over a long period of time
(usually 30 years)
EG: Singapores climate is hot and humid

a) Temperature
What can affect the temperature of a location?
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to
Explain the daily and seasonal variations in temperature at a particular location
Compare and explain the variations in temperature between different locations
i) Latitude
At lower latitudes (nearer to equator), sun rays is directly above the earths surface (angle of
incidence = 90). Thus the heat is more concentrated on a smaller area, resulting in higher
temperatures for places at this region.
At higher latitudes, the sunrays strikes at an angle (eg 45 ), resulting in sun rays spreading over a
larger area due to the CURVED shape, causing heat to be spread out/diluted. Thus places at higher
latitudes will experience lower temperatures.
ii) Altitude
Temperature falls as altitude increase. It falls by an average of 6.4C for every increase in
height of 1,000m (1km)
This is because of:
1) SURFACE AREA: Air is warmed by heat radiated by the warm ground (ground absorbs heat from the
Sun). Thus it is much warmer at lower ground due to larger area of land absorbing the heat from the
Sun. At higher grounds, such as hills & mountains, because there is smaller area of land which
absorbs the heat from the Sun, the temperatures will be lower.

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

2) AMOUNT OF GAS: Air is denser at the ground, thus containing MORE atmospheric gases which
traps heat. At higher altitudes, such as hills & mountains, the air is LESS dense, resulting in heat
trapped by the air, and hence lower temperature.

iii) Distance from the sea

The closer the location to the sea, the cooler the summer & warmer the winter
Water bodies heats up and cools down slower than land.

Max temperature Min

temperature = Temperature
range

Distance from
Sea
Description of

climatic
condition

Closer to Sea
Eg Anchorage
Small temperature range
Cool summers and warm winters

Inland ( Far away from sea)

Eg Fairbanks
Large temperature range
Hot summers and cold winters

During summer, the temperatures at coastal areas will be cooler than

the inland areas as the sea absorbs heat slower than the land.
Prevailing onshore winds will bring the cool air from the sea to the
coastal areas.
Why?
During winter, the temperatures at coastal areas will be warmer than the inland
areas as the sea loses heat slower than the land. Prevailing
onshore winds will bring the warm air from the sea to the coastal areas.
Thus, inland areas will not experience the maritime climate and will have larger
range of temperature between summer and winter.
iv) Cloud Cover
More cloud cover, lesser temperature range

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

What do the
clouds do to the
incoming
/outgoing heat?

Description
of climatic
condition
Why?

a) Cooler Daytime, warmer

nights (Presence of clouds)

A thick cover reflects some of the

incoming solar radiation so that the
land is not heated up excessively in
the day. At night, the clouds
prevent much the heat from traveling
back to the space.
Thus cloud cover is thicker at
these areas and temperature range
will be smaller.

b) Warmer daytime, colder

nights (Absence of
Clouds)

In desert areas, due to lack of cloud

cover, the land is heated
excessively in the day.
But the heat will be lost very quickly
in the night (they travel back to the
space) due to the little cloud cover.

Equatorial areas usually have higher

humidity due to higher temperatures
encouraging rapid rate of evaporation

b) Relative Humidity, Clouds and Rainfall

Why does rain occur? What are the types of rainfall?
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to
Explain the differences in relative humidity in different locations
Explain the formation of convectional rain and relief rain

Warm air can hold more water vapour than cold air.
When air is warmed, it expands and its capacity to hold water vapour thus increases.

Imagine that air is like a cup, and it is only able to hold a certain amount of water. When the air is full,
we say that the air is saturated.
When air reaches its saturation point, condensation and precipitation will then take place.

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

Rain can be form in two ways: Convectional Rain and Relief Rain
Convectional Rain

Relief Rain

Describe the formation

Describe the formation

On a hot day, the air above the warm ground is

heated intensively.

When wind blows over a sea or a large lake, it

picks up large amounts of water vapour from it,
resulting in an increase in relative humidity.

The warm air rises, in a convection current, to

great heights.
Condensation takes place once the air rises
above the saturation point.
The water vapour condenses into water droplets
which coalesce to form towering cumulonimbus
clouds.
When the water droplets in the clouds are too
heavy to be suspended, convectional rain will
occur.
Convectional rain is formed where temperatures
and humidity are high such as in tropical areas
and during summertime in temperate areas.

If there is a mountain range nearby, the air is

forced to rise the windward slope of the mountain.
As the air rises, its temperature falls and the point
when the air becomes saturated, water vapour
condenses into water droplets which coalesce to
form clouds.
When the clouds can no longer hold the water
droplets, relief rain begins to fall mostly on the
windward side of the mountain.
The other side of the mountain, known as the
leeward side (or rain shadow) receives little or no
rain because by the time the air reaches this side,
it would have lost most or all of its moisture.

It usually occurs in late afternoons and early

evenings and it is often accompanied by thunder
and lightning.
It is usually heavy but short-lived and covers
only a small area.

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

Where does this occur?

Equatorial areas, and places experiencing
summer

Where does this occur?

Mountain ranges next to the sea

What is the cause of cloud forming?

What is the cause of cloud forming?

Intense heating from high temperature, forcing

warm air to rise

Moist air forced to rise due to height of mountain.

c) Air Pressure and Wind

Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to
Explain how coastal temperatures are moderated by land and sea breezes
Explain the formation of monsoon winds
Wind: Movement of air from an area of HIGH pressure to an area of LOW pressure
2 types of wind: Coastal (movement on a small-scale) and Monsoon (movement of wind on a largescale)
i) Coastal Winds: Sea and Land Breeze
Sea Breeze

Land Breeze

What is it?
Movement of wind from sea to land

What is it?
Movement of wind from land to sea

When does it occur?

Daytime

When does it occur?

Night time

How does it occur?

How does it occur?

During the day, the land heats up faster than the

sea.
Air above the land gets heated and rises, thus
creating an area of low pressure.
Air above the sea is much cooler, thus creating
an area of high pressure.
The difference in air pressure results in wind
being formed.
Air moves from an area of high pressure to an
area of low pressure.
In this case, the cool air moves from the sea to
replace the warm air that has risen from the land.

During the night, the land loses heat faster than

the sea.
As a result, the air above the land cools and
sinks, creating an area of high pressure.
The air above the sea is warmer and thus it rises,
creating an area of low pressure.
The difference in air pressure results in wind
being formed.
Air moves from an area of high pressure to an
area of low pressure.
In this case, the cool air moves from the land to
replace the warm air that has risen from the sea.

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS
Since the wind comes from the sea, it is called
sea breeze.

Sec 4 NA/Exp

Since the wind comes from the land, it is called

land breeze.

ii) Monsoon Winds

SouthWest/Summer Monsoon

Northeast/Winter Monsoon

What is it?

What is it?

Movement of moist air from Australia to Central

Asia
When does it occur?

Movement of air from Central Asia to Australia

June to September

October to January

How does it occur?

How does it occur?

From June to Sept, the Northern Hemisphere

experiences summer while the Southern
Hemisphere experiences winter.

From Oct to Jan, the Northern Hemisphere

experiences winter while the Southern
Hemisphere experiences summer.

At the Northern Hemisphere, the higher

temperatures create an area of low pressure,
while at the Southern Hemisphere, the lower
temperatures create an area of high pressure.

At the Northern Hemisphere, the lower

temperatures create an area of high pressure,
while at the Southern Hemisphere, the higher
temperatures create an area of low pressure.

Wind results due to the difference in air pressure.

The air then moves from an area of high pressure
to an area of low pressure.

Wind results due to the difference in air pressure.

The air then moves from an area of high pressure
to an area of low pressure.

In this case, air moves from the Australia

continent in Southern Hemisphere to the Central
Asia in Northern Hemisphere

In this case, air moves from the Central Asia in

Northern Hemisphere to the Australia continent in
Southern Hemisphere.

When the air moves from Australia continent in

Southern Hemisphere, it travels in the Southeast
direction (Why? Because it gets deflected to the
left in Southern Hemisphere - Coriolis effect).

When the air moves from the Central Asia in

Northern Hemisphere, it travels in a Northeast
direction.

Once it passes the Equator, it will be deflected to

When does it occur?

This Northeast Monsoon blows from the inland

areas (offshore winds), thus it is very dry and

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

the Southwest direction (Why? Because it gets

deflected to the right in Northern Hemisphere).

brings little rain when it reaches India and

Bangladesh.

This Southwest Monsoon passes by Indian

Ocean and picks up a lot of moisture from it and
thus brings heavy rain to Indian and Bangladesh.

However, the Northeast Monsoon will bring heavy

rain to Singapore as it passes by South China
Sea, thus picking up a lot of moisture which falls
heavily as rain in Singapore.

Singapore will not receive much rain from the

Southwest Monsoon as most of the moisture will
be lost in Sumatra and the air will be quite dry
when it reaches Singapore.

d) What are the Types of Climates?

Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to
-Describe and explain the distribution and characteristics of equatorial, monsoon and cool temperate
climates
-Describe and explain the weather and climate of Singapore with reference to rainfall, relative
humidity and temperature

Tropical Equatorial
Climate

Tropical Monsoon

Cool Temperate
Climate

Location

Between 10 N & S of
equator

Between 10 to 25 N & S of
equator

Between 35 to 70 N &
S of equator

Temperature

High and uniform

throughout the year
(average of 27 C)

High and uniform throughout

the year (average of 26 C)

Annual
Temperature
Range
Precipitation

Small (about 2 C)

Small (about 6 C)

-High in summer, low in

winter.
-Affected by location of
places: coastal or inland
Large, from 15 C to
more than 30 C.

-High and evenly

distributed throughout the
year.
-Between 1000mm and
3000mm.

-High, with distinct wet and dry

seasons.
-Between 0mm and 3000mm.

-Rain in summer, snow

in winter.
-between 300mm and
2000mm

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

Reading a climograph
Climate-graph, or CLIMOGRAPHS, are a graphic way of displaying climate information;
specifically, average temperature and precipitation of a location annually
Climographs combines a LINE GRAPH and a BAR GRAPH together within one chart. Take a
look at the picture below:

This is a LINE graph.

It is used to represent
temperature. The
numbers on the
LEFT side of the
graph are used to
read the temperature
line.
This is a BAR graph.
It is used to represent
precipitation. The
numbers on the
RIGHT side of the
graph are used to
read the amount of
rainfall monthly.

With the help of the climograph:

Describe Singapores climate
Identify Singapores climatic type
Explain why it experiences such a climate (hint: refer back to your elements of weather
section!!)

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

Below are more climographs for you to analyse. Similar to the precious exercise, describe the type of
climate each region has, identify the climatic type explain why it experiences such a climate.

Variable Weather and Changing Climate A continuing challenge?

RGT SS

Sec 4 NA/Exp

10