How does relief affect climate

Winds that blow to Britain from inland areas such as central Europe will be cold and dry in winter. Britain's prevailing i. These winds are cool in the summer, mild in the winter and tend to bring wet weather. Climate can be affected by mountains. Mountains receive more rainfall than low lying areas because as air is forced over the higher ground it cools, causing moist air to condense and fall out as rainfall.

The higher the place is above sea level the colder it will be. This happens because as altitude increases, air becomes thinner and is less able to absorb and retain heat. That is why you may see snow on the top of mountains all year round.

The distance from the equator affects the climate of a place. At the poles, energy from the sun reaches the Earth's surface at lower angles and passes through a thicker layer of atmosphere than at the equator. This means the climate is cooler further from the Equator. The poles also experience the greatest difference between summer and winter day lengths: in the summer there is a period when the sun does not set at the poles; conversely the poles also experience a period of total darkness during winter.

In contrast, daylength varies little at the equator. The warmer water pumps energy and moisture into the atmosphere, altering global wind and rainfall patterns. The phenomenon has caused tornadoes in Florida, smog in Indonesia, and forest fires in Brazil. The factors above affect the climate naturally. However, we cannot forget the influence of humans on our climate.

Early on in human history our effect on the climate would have been quite small. However, as populations increased and trees were cut down in large numbers, so our influence on the climate increased. Trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. A reduction in trees will therefore have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The Industrial Revolution, starting at the end of the 19th Century, has had a huge effect on climate.

The invention of the motor engine and the increased burning of fossil fuels have increased the amount of carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas - more on that later in the atmosphere. The number of trees being cut down has also increased, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that is taken up by forests. The video below explains in more detail.

Wind speed is affected by altitude. At higher elevations wind speeds tend to be considerably higher. The windward slopes of mountains the side facing the prevailing wind will generally experience higher wind speeds than nearby lowland areas. Winds speeds are not as high on the leeward side. Relief can influence the amount of precipitation an area receives. When air is forced to rise over a mountain range, it cools and the moisture within it condenses.

Clouds form and produce rain. This type of rainfall is called orographic rainfall or relief rainfall. It rains mostly on the windward slopes.

As the air moves over the mountain range and starts to descend, it warms. The Coastal Range allows for some condensation and light precipitation. Inland, the taller Sierra Nevada range rings more significant precipitation in the air. On the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, sinking air warms from compression, clouds evaporate, and dry conditions prevail. Effects of Geography The position of a town, city or place and its distance from mountains and substantial areas of water help determine its prevailing wind patterns and what types of air masses affect it.

Coastal areas may enjoy refreshing breezes in summer, when cooler ocean air moves ashore. In spring and summer, people in Tornado Alley in the central United States watch for thunderstorms, these storms are caused where three types of air masses frequently converge: cold and dry from the north, warm and dry from the southwest, and warm and moist from the Gulf of Mexico - these colliding air masses often generate tornado storms.

Surface of the Earth Just look at any globe or a world map showing land cover, and you will see another important factor which has a influence on climate: the surface of the Earth.

The amount of sunlight that is absorbed or reflected by the surface determines how much atmospheric heating occurs. Darker areas, such as heavily vegetated regions, tend to be good absorbers; lighter areas, such as snow and ice-covered regions, tend to be good reflectors. The ocean absorbs and loses heat more slowly than land. Its waters gradually release heat into the atmosphere, which then distributes heat around the globe.