How Does Latitude Affect Climate? Here's An Explanation

Question: How does latitude affect climate? Here’s an answer.

HOW DOES LATITUDE AFFECT CLIMATE – Latitude affects the temperature of a place and here’s an explanation for this.

Latitude starts at the equator, the 0 degrees latitude, running from east and west. This line is imaginary that divides the Earth and the 0 degrees latitude divides the Earth equally into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The other named lines of latitude depend on the position of the sun during the orbit of the Earth and through this, we get to understand climate, weather, and ocean currents.

The equator is at 0° latitude while the poles, either north or south, are at 90°. The lines are parallel and each is 1° away from the other.

Climate, on the other hand, according to Climate Europes, is defined as “the average weather in a given area over a longer period of time” which includes other details such as the “average temperature in different seasons, rainfall, and sunshine”.

Solar radiation is unevenly distributed to the Earth. And such results in more energy in low latitudes or close to the equator and the energy from the sun is received less in high latitudes close to the poles. Hence, higher latitude to a lower temperature and lower latitude to a higher temperature. In short, the latitude has something to do about the amount of solar radiation that a particular region receives.

Here are the important lines of latitude: