What is climate?

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What is climate?

Static, long-term weather regime givenaccording to its geographical position, it is customary to call the climate. The climate is a whole complex of states through which the system of terrestrial shells - the hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere - passes for decades. Under the climate is also meant the average value of the weather in about several decades, it should be borne in mind that if the weather deviates from the climatic norm, then this change should not be defined as a climatic change. For example, the abnormally cold winter does not indicate a climate freezing.

Moisture, heat and air circulation -those cyclic processes that form the climatic conditions on the planet Earth. In addition to all the above, the climate should also be understood as solar radiation, magnetic fields, electricity of the atmosphere, in short, all those factors that can influence both positively and negatively on human health. For more information on this effect, see our article How the climate affects a person.

Different concepts of climate

In addition to the general concept of climate, there are the following (or private):

• macro climate - weather regime in the scale of the planet Earth;
• local climate - the climatic conditions of small areas with uniform conditions (for example, the climate of the sea coast);
• microclimate - climate of the lower atmosphere;
• climate of plants;
• soil climate.

Climatology is a natural science dealing with the issues of climate education on the planet, a description of the different types of climate and their classification, and the individual's influence on the climate.

Paleoclimatology - is engaged in studying the history of climate change in various parts of the world.

Climatic zones

Depending on the latitude (from equatorialsubtropics to polar regions), climatic belts and types change significantly. Classification of climatic zones is represented by 4 categories for each terrestrial hemisphere, between them are located the so-called transition belts (subpolar, subtropical and subequatorial):

1. Equatorial belt. Characterized by the equatorial climate: a weak wind, small temperature fluctuations, and abundant precipitation. Basically, the territory of South America, Africa.
2. Subequatorial belt with tropical monsoon climate. Territories of Equatorial Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia.
3. The tropical belt. There is a dry and humid climate. African (Sahara), Arabian (Nefud), Australian (Great desert of Victoria) desert.
4. Subtropical belt. The continental climate (hot summer, frosty winter, meager precipitation), dominates a significant part of the Russian Federation, Ukraine; The Mediterranean climate is the Northern coast of Africa, the Mediterranean basin of such seas as the Tyrrhenian, the Marble, the Aegean, the Black, the Azov, and the Adriatic.
5. Temperate zone. The climate of this belt is formed over the ocean and is characterized by a low summer, an increased moisture index, a considerable amount of precipitation, a fairly mild winter.
6. The polar belt. Polar climate - zones of the Arctic and Antarctic: the average temperature of February in the North. The pole is -43 ° C, large areas are covered with glaciers, beyond the Arctic Circle, most of the water surface is covered with ice for a year, characterized by an uneven supply of solar heat.