Factors That Affect the Temperature of a Place

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In this essay, I would be writing about 3 factors, which influences the temperature of a place. The following factors are latitude, cloud cover and altitude. Two of these factors, Latitude and cloud cover, influences the amount of solar insolation received by a place and therefore influences the temperature of a place as well. This is due to the fact that air is warmed by the transfer of heat from the Earth’s surface in the form of radiation, conduction and convection. Since heat from the Earth’s surface comes from the insolation it receives from the sun, therefore, latitude and cloud cover, being factors which influences the amount of insolation received, would influence the temperature of a place as well. Firstly, the most important factor that determines the temperature of a place is latitude. Latitude is the distance in degrees to the North and South of the equator and temperatures decrease from the lower latitudes to the higher latitudes. This is because sunrays travel through different distances and strike the Earth’s surface at different angles. At lower latitudes (eg. Equator), sunrays would travel through a shorter distance of atmosphere, thus reducing the amount of radiation that can be absorbed while travelling through the atmosphere. Also, the midday sun is high up in the sky at lower latitudes. The angle of incidence at which the sunrays reaches the Earth’s surface at the equator is 90 degrees. Since the rays are concentrated over a small area, the rays are intense and the heat is more concentrated, thus explaining why places near the equator are generally hotter. Higher latitudes (eg.the poles) experience colder temperatures on the contrary, due to the fact that the sun rays travel through a longer distance of atmosphere before it reaches the poles, thus allowing more radiation to be absorbed or reflected while travelling through the atmosphere.

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