Characteristics of Climate in the Tropics

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Climate. In this essay I have chosen to describe the savannah climate type of the tropics. The Savannah climate type is located 5-20 degrees north and south of the equator. This climate type s distinguished by a hot wet and a cooler dry season. Although temperatures are high throughout the year, there is a slightly cooler season in comparison to an equatorial climate when the sun is overhead the tropics in the opposite hemisphere. The annual range of temperatures in the savannah regions is slightly greater than of a climate type of equatorial regions, this is due to the overhead sun’s reduced angle of incidence and the heat budget is reduced as winds blow from high pressured regions to the low pressure region of the savannah causing unstable air conditions and increased rainfall. The hot wet season occurs when the sun is overhead bringing with it the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ). The hot wet season increases in temperatures due to the in blowing wind from the north in the Northern hemisphere bringing in warm moist from the prevailing trade winds off the coasts. When the ITCZ is overhead the savannah regions, this will bring heavy rainstorms in which can give around 80% of the annual rainfall to the region. The average rainfall for the Savannah region is around 800mm a year. The dry season of the savannah occurs when the migration of the ITCZ moves away from the region leaving strong winds with the movement and the imbalance of air pressures. Here is a diagram showing the movement and influences of the ITCZ to a savannah region. The temperature range for the savannah is around 25-35. The evaporation rates remain high during the cooler dry season. The variation from the normal seasonal weather patterns is partly linked to deviations in the paths of jet streams in the higher atmosphere. Humidity is at its highest during the hot wet season, this is due to

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