Atmospheric Temperature: Causes and Influencing Factors

Atmospheric Temperature and Influencing Factors

Temperature is the amount of heat in air.

Thermograph: A thermograph is an instrument in which a pen automatically traces the calibrated temperature on paper.

The temperature distribution in the troposphere depends on several factors, among which are:

• Earth's movements and axial tilt
• Earth's curvature and latitude
• Altitude
• Different behavior of land and water in relation to radiation absorption and heat
• Action of the winds
• Ocean currents
• Vegetation

Action of the winds

The arrival of warm or cold winds to a region raises or lowers the temperature of that region.

Ocean currents

Warm or cold ocean currents increase or decrease the air temperature of the areas where they exert their influence.

Vegetation and soil cover

Soils covered by vegetation are less hot than soils deprived of it, so they retain less heat.

Earth's curvature and latitude

Sunlight reaching the Earth is almost parallel, but because the Earth is curved, from the Equator to the poles sunlight is distributed over a larger surface, so the intensity of heat per unit area decreases.

Altitude

Temperature decreases by approximately 1 °C every 180 meters of altitude for two reasons. First, as we ascend the layers of air are less dense and contain less heat. Second, the Earth's surface absorbs solar radiation and returns it to the atmosphere as heat.

Land and water thermal behavior

The different behavior of land and water regarding absorption and radiation of heat causes larger differences between day and night temperatures and between summer and winter on the continents than over the oceans. Land heats more rapidly and to a greater magnitude when receiving sunlight, but cools faster than water, which better retains heat. In areas near the sea, temperatures are more uniform, but as we move away from the coast the diurnal and seasonal temperature differences increase.