Weather & Climate Case Studies

KQ1) VARIABLE WEATHER AND CHANGING CLIMATE

o Latitude

Singapore is 1.3521o N of the equator:

Have a diurnal temperature range of a minimum of 25oc and a
maximum of 37 oc

London, United Kingdom is 51.50740N of the equator:

Have a diurnal temperature range of approximately 18 oc to 22 oc
during the summer and average monthly temperature of 5 oc to 7
oc during the winters

o Altitude

Temperature difference on Mt. Fuji:

Temperature fluctuates due to the large difference in altitude

between the Fujinomiya at the base station and the summit (3,776m
above sea level)

The base could experience summer temperatures while

temperatures at the peak would be far below zero (-8.5 to
-18.9)

Temperature lowers at a rate of approximately -0.6 per 100 m of

altitude at Mt. Fuji
The difference in temperature between the foot of the mountain and
the summit may exceed 20

o Distance from the sea (Maritime Effect vs Continental Effect)

Maritime Effect: Cooler Summers/ Warmer Winters

Coastal City: Bristol, United Kingdom
Located in southern England, Bristol is one of the warmer cities in
the UK with a mean annual temperature of approximately 10.5 C
(50.9 F)
The Atlantic Ocean influences Bristol's weather, keeping its average
temperature above freezing throughout the year, with winter
temperatures of around 7.6C
Summers are cooler and drier, with average temperature of 16C to
18C due to variable sunshine, rain and clouds,

Continental Effect: Warmer Summers and Cooler winters

Inland Region: Birmingham, United Kingdom
Birmingham like much of the British Isles, has a mean annual
temperautre of approximately 9.6C
average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around
21.3 C (70.3 F); and in winter (January) around 6.7 C (44.1 F)

o Cloud Cover

Some regions are almost always cloudy such as the Amazon

Rainforest with a tropical climate leading to high relative humidity
and precipitation and
some others are almost always clear such as the Sahara Desert with
a hot desert climate and a constantly high average temperature
that exceeds 38 to 40 C and the extremely low relative humidity

o Land and Sea Breeze

Sea Breeze:
On the peninsula of Florida, winds are blowing easterly (from the
east) off the Atlantic Ocean and westerly (from the west) off the Gulf
of Mexico. This causes sea breezes to converge towards the central
part of the peninsula. These sea breezes are very beneficial to the
climate of Florida and along the East Coast. On occasion, these sea
breezes are not strong enough and do not converge inland over
Florida.
For example, the air temperature drops significantly after the sea
breeze front passes a location, sometimes as much as 15-20F (8-
11C)

Land Breeze:
Land breezes are weaker than sea breezes but not because of the
difference in heating. Daytime heating and nighttime cooling occur at
about the same rate so the potential for both land and sea breezes to
be the same strength exists. But at night,nighttime cooling also
produces a shallower change in temperature so land breeze circulation
is shallower, andterrain, vegetation, and buildings inhibit the flow of air
from land to water.

o Equatorial Climate

Usually is a tropical climate usually (but not always) found along

the equator. Regions with this climate typically feature tropical
rainforests,
Tropical rainforests have a type of tropical climate in which there is
no dry season all months have an average precipitation value of at
least 60 mm.
Tropical rainforests have no summer or winter; it is typically hot and
wet throughout the year and rainfall is both heavy and frequent
The climate is most commonly found in South America, Central Africa,
and Southeast Asia. while not everywhere along the equatorial region
features a tropical rainforest climate.
Tthere are a number of instances where the climate is found some
distance away from the equator. For instance, Santos, Brazil and parts
of United States are not only far removed from the equator, but are
actually located just outside the tropics. Yet both of these cities feature
a tropical rainforest climate, albeit with noticeably cooler and warmer
periods of the year.

o Monsoon Climate

Tropical monsoon climates have monthly mean temperatures above

18 C in every month of the year and feature wet and dry seasons

Tropical monsoon climates are most commonly found

in South and Central America. However, there are sections of South
Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa (particularly West and Central Africa),
the Caribbean and North America that also feature this climate.

o Marine West Coast Climate