Weather & Climate: How Latitude Affects Temperature

Temperature varies across the earth for various reasons. Some places are colder while others are warmer. Factors that cause this variations in temperature across the globe include;

1) Latitude
2) Altitude
3) Distance from the Sea
4) Cloud Cover

What is Latitude?

Latitude refers to the distance of any point on the earth, measured north or south from the Equator.

It is an imaginary horizontal line running across from east to west around the earth, measured in degrees.

The Equator is at a latitude of 0°, while the North Pole is at 90°N and South Pole 90°S.

Singapore is located at latitude 1°22'N.

Latitude is the most important factor affecting temperature!!!

• Temperature differs between places of lower latitudes and higher latitudes because the sun's rays strike at different parts of the world at different angles.
• Angle of Incidence is the angle at which the sun's rays strike the earth's surface
• When the angle of incidence is higher, the sun's rays are more concentrated on that area.
• Angle of incidence is high especially in the tropics (Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn) which is located 23.5°N and 23.5°S respectively.

Watch the video below to gain a better understanding of how latitude affects temperature (i.e. How the sun's rays reach the earth's surface at different angles and affects temperature).

(Stop at the 2 minute mark of the video)

Click on the link below to answer the quiz to test your understanding :)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1p9-P9YwbjWATjvRXveAo_VrU6gvMVBKaae6KFHsOEO4/viewform

Click on the images below to check if you managed to get the correct answers to the quiz :)