What is the relationship between climate and atmosphere?

The atmosphere relies on circulation, such as Hadley circulation, to maintain the temperature and pressure balance between the equator and the polar regions, so large areas of cold and warm air masses move seasonally, and atmospheric circulation is based on the seasonal movement of these cold and warm air masses. The seasonal movement of cold and warm air mass is helpful to form a semi-permanent high and low pressure area that controls the atmosphere. The change of the position of the pressure zone determines the weather conditions in different seasons in a certain area, which ultimately determines the climate type. Such as the equatorial trough. Moving northward seasonally will produce a humid summer monsoon, which will bring a lot of precipitation to Central America, North Africa, India and Southeast Asia. When the Bermuda Plateau in the Atlantic Ocean moves north and west in summer, it brings hot and humid weather to the east coast of North America.

One of the important factors that determine climate is latitude and solar altitude angle determined by specific latitude. Generally speaking, the closer an area is to the equator, the more heat it receives from the sun, and the warmer the climate there is. It is not surprising that the annual average temperature in Cochin, India, located at 10 north latitude is188 F (104 C) higher than that in Cape Town, South Africa, located at 34 south latitude.

Similarly, if everything else remains the same, the higher the altitude, the colder the climate. Although Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is close to the equator, the average temperature is 1 1 F (6℃) lower than that of New Delhi, because it is located in a mountainous area about 3600 feet (1 100 meters) higher than that of New Delhi.

The climate of a region will also be affected by its proximity to the ocean, because the temperature of the monsoon will be affected by the temperature of the land and water it blows over. The response of the ocean to seasonal changes is often 1 or 2 months later than that of the land, because it stores the heat of last season. For example, the highest temperature in summer in San Francisco is usually about 25 degrees Fahrenheit (65,438+04 degrees Celsius) lower than that in the nearby Sacramento Valley, which is only 90 miles (65,438+045 kilometers) northeast. This is because of the same sea breeze, the climate in the Bay Area is cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Just as the wind will change the climate, ocean currents will change the climate. The winter in Bordeaux, France is much warmer than that in Montreal, Canada at the same latitude and altitude. One reason is the reconciliation of the Gulf Stream, a fast-moving North Atlantic ocean current that heats the coastal atmosphere. The Gulf of Mexico, which originated in the Caribbean, moved northward to Newfoundland, where it met the colder Labrador current, and then separated and flowed across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe as the North Atlantic current.

Montreal is surrounded by land, and it is easier for Montreal to reach extreme temperatures than Halifax, which is a coastal city with almost the same latitude and adjacent to the ocean. The ocean brings more rainfall (because the air is warmer) and storms, which is due to the constant collision between polar air masses and air masses heated by ocean currents.