Weather &

Climate

• Are WEATHER

and

CLIMATE the same thing?

NO!

Then, what is the difference?

Weather• Weather is the condition of the bottom layer

of the earth’s atmosphere . - What is going on outside right now.

• ClimateClimate - weather patterns a region typically experiences over time.

ClimateClimate

THE SUN & THE EARTH

• The sun is of course the ultimate source of the earth’s climate.

• Because of the earth’s position and Revolution around the sun, we experience different climates in different areas.

Rotation• The earth ROTATES once

every 24 hours.

• It completes one Revolution once every 365 ¼ days and is tilted 23 ½ degrees.

Summer & winter

SOLSTICESoccur when the sun,

at noon,

is directly over

the Tropics of Capricorn & Cancer.

Fall and Spring

EQUINOXES occur when the sun,

at noon, is directly over

the equator.

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Greenhouse Greenhouse EffectEffect

• Earth’s atmosphere acts as a greenhouse trapping 50% of the sun’s heat radiation.

• Clouds, water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb the heat reflected by the earth and radiates it back again to keep the balance

Global WarmingGlobal Warming

Scientists claim that there has been a rise in CO2

levels and that has caused

a rise in global temperatures.

Global WarmingGlobal WarmingBurning of coal, oil and natural gas

has caused the CO2 levels to rise

- increased burning will trap more heat in the atmosphere

Global WarmingGlobal Warming• Some scientists predict that Global Warming will cause extreme global weather patterns such as rapid water evaporation causing drier soils between rain and humidity might increase due to rapid evaporation in the oceans.

• Not all scientists agree on the nature of global warming …hmmmmm!

Global WarmingGlobal Warming

Observe changes in Earth's orbit that

contribute to climate change

• http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es1506/es1506page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization