Page 89 - The World About Us

Mt. McKinley
1.1.1
1.1.1
2.3.4
2.2.3

Rains fall over the land
Some of the we est places on Earth receive as air is pulled in off Wettest places on Earth
monsoon rains. Monsoons form when land areas the warm oceans.
rapidly heat up during the summer (see figure The we est places on earth tend to be
238). The rising air pulls in warm, moist air off found where warm, moist air is being forced
warmer upwards by mountain ranges and in areas
the oceans. As this air rises over the land, it cools land
dominated by the rising air of the Inter-
and water condenses to form rain clouds.
colder sea
Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
During the winter, the rapidly cooling land Summer
During the summer months intense
causes the air above it to sink. The air flows hea ng of the Tibetan Plateau, north of the
outwards over the warmer ocean. Here the air is Himalayas, results in a zone of intense low
warmed and begins to rise. Rain falls out at sea colder land pressure which is able to draw the ITCZ
north of the Tropic of Cancer. This creates
When monsoons climates are combined with warmer sea
high mountains, such the Himalayas, then very the condi ons for the Indian monsoon.
intense rainfall is the result,. This is the case at Winter Mawsynram, India 11,871mm
Mawsynram and Cherrapunji in north-east India. Fig.238 The forma on of monsoons Cherrapunji, India 11,777mm
Tutendo, Columbia 11,779mm
Fig.235 Verkhoyansk. Cropp River, New Zealand 11,516mm
Ureca, Bioko, Equatorial Guinea 10,450mm
Debundscha, Cameroon 10,229mm
Verkhoyansk Big Bog, Hawaii, USA 10,272mm
Mount Waialeale, Hawaii 9,763mm
Oymyakon Kukui, Hawaii 9,293mm
Mount Emei, China 8,169mm
The driest places on Earth
Dry Valleys, Antarc ca 0 mm Hottest places on Earth
Arica, Chile 0.761 mm
Al-Kutresh, Libya 0.860 mm Clear skies and descending air are
Aswan, Egypt 0.861 mm associated with the Sub-Tropical High
Dash el Lut Luxor, Egypt 0.862 mm Pressure. Winds blowing over dry land or
Mawsynram & Ica, Peru. 2.29 mm over rain shadow mountains reduce the
Cherrapunji Iquique, Chile 5.08 mm chance of rain further. These clear skies
Luxor Pelican Point, Namibia 8.13 mm combine with the high overhead Sun of the
Aoulet, Algeria 12.19 mm
Aswan Bangkok sub-tropics to create scorching midday
temperatures.
Dallol Bangkok may be the world’s ho est city
with an average annual temperature of
28 C but that is 30 C lower than the ho est
temperatures ever recorded in the shade.
Fig.236 Dallol, Ethiopia.
Death Valley, USA. Ho est place on earth
with recorded 56.7 C in the shade.
Al-Aziziyah, Libya. 57.8 C (disputed)
Dash-el-Lut, Iran. Surface temperature in
excess of 70 C
Dallol, Ethiopia. An annual average
temperature of 34.6 C.
Barrow Island

Oodnada a 1. What is meant by
'atmospheric circula on'? (2)
2. What is happening at an area of low
pressure in the atmosphere? (1)
3. What are the Hadley Cells? (2)
Cropp River 4. Describe the climate found under the
Wellington Sub-Tropical High Pressure. (2)
Fig.237 Dry Valleys. 5. Where would you find the temperate
climate zones on the planet? (2)
Commonwealth Bay 6. Outline some of the social and
economic effects of climate change. (6)
7. Explain how atmospheric circula on
Vostock Sta on McMurdo Dry Valleys
can lead to extreme weather in two
contras ng global climate zones. (8)

89

The global circulation of the atmosphere controls weather and climate.