Chapter 3 of 10All chapters
Chapter 3 of 10
Climate zones
Latitude, altitude, ocean.
The pattern
Warm air rises at the equator and descends around thirty degrees north and south, which is where most of the great deserts sit. Tropical rainforest, desert, temperate and polar bands follow from this circulation.
- Altitude cools by roughly six degrees per thousand metres.
- Ocean currents move heat; western Europe is mild for its latitude because of them.
Rain shadows and monsoons
Mountains wring moisture from air on the windward side and leave dry land beyond. Monsoons reverse seasonally as land heats and cools faster than sea.