The main factors that affect an area’s temperature are prevailing winds and mountains.
Some other important factors like altitude, wind, geography, surface conditions, and climate change can affect the temperature.
We will discuss these factors in detail and how they affect the temperature of an area.
What Are the 6 Most Important Factors that Influence Climate?
Climate is the trend of the weather conditions in an area over a long time.
A sudden weather change does not represent climate change.
You can take a temperature reading over a few years to check the climate patterns.
If the temperature shows an elevation trend on the graph, it is a sign of climate change.
Temperature is a crucial factor for measuring the climate trends in an area.
Many factors can influence the temperature in the area.
You will find most of these factors in the article.
1. Prevailing Global Wind Patterns
There are different wind patterns in the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere.
You cannot estimate the wind condition without analyzing all wind patterns.
Wind patterns can shift from the north to the south as the weather changes in these areas.
You can get wind-related information from the sailors.
The intensity of the sunlight can also affect wind patterns.
Polar regions can receive sunlight only half of the year.
They may receive sunlight for 24 hours in the other half of the year.
It will influence the wind pattern and temperature in the area.
2. Elevation/Altitude Effect Climate
Altitude can affect the climate of an area in several ways.
The mountain altitude can influence the type of trees that grow in the area.
You can observe the types of trees on the base of the mountains.
These trees are the same as the other parts of the country.
You will see different trees as you go to high altitudes.
There are different life zones in specific parts of the mountains.
Trees affect the temperature in the area.
As you go higher, the temperature gets colder.
Most mountains have icecaps if the peaks are at a high altitude.
3. Effects of Geography
People living in the cities near the oceans can enjoy the weather with more precipitation.
Air can contain more moisture to produce denser clouds and more rain.
If there is an area between the ocean and mountains, it will receive more rain and cold winds.
Areas near the lake or water bodies can also produce cold winds due to the lake effect.
This effect will reduce the air temperature as it passes above the lakes.
Lakes can make it cold with water evaporation.
You may also see more thunderstorms in the same area due to the rapid changes in the wind pressure.
4. Topography
Topography is the condition of the land as the land may have flat surfaces or mountains.
Mountains can affect the wind and temperature in the area by blocking the winds coming from oceans.
Some mountains can block the air from the oceans to prevent rainfall in an area.
It can also lead to the desert formation.
You may see more rain on the one side of the mountains as they face oceans.
The other side may receive less rain due to low air moisture content.
5. Climate Change Over Time
Earth faced many periods of warmer and colder weather conditions.
Most climate effects were for a short time as a volcanic eruption reduced the air temperature for a short time.
Some were long such as the ice age that produced the glaciers of Antarctica.
There was a little ice age in Europe that finished in 1850.
People are concerned about the increase in the temperature.
No one can say for sure how much of it is due to the changes made by humans.
6. The Surface of the Earth
You can check the surface condition by looking at the satellite images of the earth’s surface.
If the surface is darker, it will absorb more sunlight.
A lighter surface does not absorb as much sunlight.
If there is more agitation in an area, it has a darker color and absorbs more sunlight.
Locations with more ice do not absorb sunlight as the white color reflects the sunlight.
This factor can determine the temperature in an area for a long time.
