Weather &

Climate

Weather -is what the forecasters on

the TV news predict each day. They tell people about the temperature, cloudiness, humidity, and whether a storm is likely in the next few days. That’s weather! It is the mix of events that happens each day in our atmosphere. Weather is not the same everywhere. It may be hot and sunny in one part of the world, but freezing and snowy in another.

Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change

But before we can fully understand the difference between weather and climate, and how they change, it is important to know where these changes occur and how they happen. Therefore, it is necessary to talk about the Atmosphere, the layer of gaseous material that envelops the Earth and where all the phenomena of weather and climate occur.

Atmosphere. The atmosphere is composed of different gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and others. Generally, nitrogen comprises about 78%, oxygen about 21% while the remaining 1% is for hydrogen, carbon dioxide, argon and other inert gases.

Atmosphere is divided in several parts or layers

TROPOSPHERE

STRATOSPHERE

MESOSPHERE

THERMOSPHERE

Troposphere- is the lowest layer of Earth's

atmosphere. The troposphere starts at Earth's surface and goes up to a height of 7 to 20 km (4 to 12 miles, or 23,000 to 65,000 feet) above sea level. Most of the mass (about 75-80%) of the atmosphere is in the troposphere. Almost all weather occurs within this layer. Air is warmest at the bottom of the troposphere near ground level. Higher up it gets colder. Air pressure and the density of the air are also less at high altitudes. The layer above the troposphere is called the stratosphere.

Stratosphere -is a layer of the

atmosphere between the troposphere and the mesosphere, or the highest level of a profession.

Mesosphere -is one of five layers of the atmosphere

surrounding the planet earth. The other four layers include the troposphere, stratosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. The mesosphere is located approximately 50km from the earth's surface and extends as far as 85km from the earth's surface. The mesosphere is located above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. The mesosphere is too high for weather balloons or airplanes and too low for satellites, making it difficult to study, however scientists are able to use research rockets capable of short trips for specific experiments.

Thermosphere-is a layer of Earth's atmosphere. The

thermosphere is directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. It extends from about 90 km (56 miles) to between 500 and 1,000 km (311 to 621 miles) above our planet.

Atmosphere&

Temperature

Temperature- is an important element of climate. It

is the degree of hotness or coldness of the atmosphere. Whatever the temperature of the atmosphere directly above particularl place, will define the weather conditions of that place.

Weather

-is the condition of the air or the atmosphere in general, at particular moment or over a short period of time, over a particular place. It is what we experience from day to day and may change any time.

Climate - is the average condition of the atmosphere in a given place or region. In many parts of the world there is always a weather pattern for a particular region.

Elements and Control of Weather and

Climate

Elements of Weather

and Climate

TEMPERATURE PRECIPITATION

WINDPRESSURE

Climate Element

-is a component climate which defines the condition of particular place.

The Controls Of

Climate

Latitude and Temperature Pressure Belts

Altitude or Elevation

Orographic or Mountain Land Breeze

Oceans Currents

Latitude and Temperature

Altitude or Elevation

Orographic Mountain

Oceans Currents