Chapter 3 Weather and Climate Section 2: Variation and Distribution

Section 2: Variation and Distribution of Temperature

Temperature change: Every day, we can hear or read the word temperature through TV, radio, newspapers and other media. Temperature refers to the temperature of the atmosphere. In life, people are more interested in the highest and lowest temperatures of the day. To describe the temperature of an area, daily average, monthly average and annual average temperatures are also used. The daily variation of temperature is called the daily variation of temperature in a day cycle; the annual variation of temperature in a year cycle is called the annual variation of temperature. A graph of temperature is usually used to show the change in temperature over time.

Distribution of temperature: The distribution of temperature varies greatly around the world due to differences in heat and cold. The horizontal distribution of temperature is usually represented by an isothermal map. In an isotherm graph, the temperature at each point on the same isotherm line is equal. Reading an isotherm map, we can analyze the pattern of temperature distribution in the world or in a certain region. Usually, according to the direction of the isotherms, we can read the direction of temperature change; according to the density of the isotherms, we can analyze the size of the temperature difference; according to the closure of the isotherms, we can determine the distribution of high and low temperature centers.

Read the map of the annual average temperature distribution in the world. The values of isotherms in the northern hemisphere decrease from south to north, and those in the southern hemisphere decrease from north to south. According to this, the temperature decreases from low to high latitudes.

In mountainous and hilly areas, the temperature decreases with the increase in altitude. Roughly for every 100 meters of elevation, the temperature decreases by about 0.6 Co

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