How does temperature vary with latitude

Help them determine the following typical color range where red is the hottest and violet is the coldest. Have students draw the average temperatures around the world in June, July, and August. Ask students to think about climate and temperature, and what areas they think are warmest or coldest.

Give each student six crayons of the colors listed in the legend, and ask them to draw their best predictions of the average temperatures around the world in June, July, and August. Tell students that the purpose of this activity is to think about patterns of temperature around the world, so their predictions will not be exact. Discuss with students what they drew and why. Conduct a class discussion about the maps. First, ask students to explain what they drew and how the colors related to latitude and longitude.

Finally, ask students to work on their own to make lists of questions the activity raised for them. Have students compare their maps to an accurate map of average temperatures around the world in June, July, and August.

Show students the National Geographic MapMaker Interactive with the data layer showing average surface air temperatures around the world in June, July, and August selected.

Ask students to describe similarities and differences between their map and the interactive map, surprising or unexpected parts of the map, and questions that they have about the map. In pairs, have students discuss and answer the following questions:.

Make sure students understand the relationship between latitude and general climate patterns. Regroup and discuss students' answers. Make sure students understand the general climate patterns that occur as latitude increases.

Explain to students that the areas farther away from the Equator tend to be cooler. Point out that the general climate patterns might not show exceptions and variations as a result of elevation , ocean currents, precipitation , and other factors.

Have students follow the line of latitude from their location to the east and west to determine variations around the world at that latitude. Discuss with students the importance of latitude and longitude. Have students share why latitude and longitude are helpful map tools.

Prompt them to explain how latitude and longitude can help them to identify specific locations, as well as explain general climate patterns. Have students point out lines of latitude and longitude on one of the outline maps. Then read aloud the following statements to the class, and ask them to write what they think you might be wearing if you were really in these places:. There is a relationship between latitude and temperature around the world, as temperatures are typically warmer approaching the Equator and cooler approaching the Poles.

There are variations, though, as other factors such as elevation, ocean currents, and precipitation affect climate patterns. Define temperature and climate at the start of this activity, and talk about how they are related.

Students may also need to discuss the meaning of average temperatures. In Step 4, some students will draw temperatures straight across the map. Other students may not include temperatures for oceans and other bodies of water. They are between the latitudes The temperate zone experiences the most variation in temperature throughout the year. It also has more distinct seasonal changes compared to the tropical zone, where variation is often minimal.

Temperate zones have four distinct seasons, which include summer, the hottest season, autumn, a transition season, winter, the coldest season, and spring, another transition season. In the Northern hemisphere, winter begins at the start of the year.

During the first half of the year, it transitions to spring. By mid-year, it is summer which transitions into autumn in the second half of the year. By the end of the year, it transitions into winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are reversed. The polar zones or Polar Regions are also known as Frigid Zones, and they are areas surrounding the geographical poles. The North Pole and the South Pole lie within the polar circles, and they are the highest latitudes.

Lapse rate occurs during cold, winter nights when the sky is clear and the air is dry. On nights like these, the heat from Earth's surface radiates and cools faster than atmospheric air. The warmer surface heat then also warms the low-lying low-altitude atmospheric air which then rises rapidly into the upper atmosphere think: because warm air rises and cool air sinks.

Consequently, places located in high altitudes, such as mountainous regions , experience high temperatures. Usually, the average lapse rate in the troposphere is 2-degrees Celsius per 1, feet. In response to the direct radiation from the sun, these regions experience high temperatures.

Such regions are located further from the equator or at higher latitudes. Therefore, the further you go from the equator, the cooler it becomes. Normally, Earth receives heat during the day via solar radiation and loses heat through terrestrial radiation at night.

Some days are shorter than others think: seasons. A snowbird may spend summers "at home" in Michigan or New York. But they travel to Arizona or Florida to spend their winters in the Sun and warmth. What would a reverse snowbird be?

Latitude is the distance north or south of the Equator. Several climate factors vary with latitude. Temperature changes with latitude Figure below. Temperature varies with latitude. If you look closely you can see that other factors influence temperature.