Where is the equatorial climate found and what is it like?

In a narrow belt either side of the equator, where it is hot and wet all year with heavy rain on most days.

Which belts of latitude are the world’s hot deserts strung along?

Two belts roughly 30° north and 30° south of the equator, where rainfall is very low, days are extremely hot and nights are cold.

What is the polar climate like and where is it found?

Beyond about 66° north and south, where it is very cold all year and precipitation is low and mostly falls as snow.

Why does the equator receive far more solar energy than the poles?

Sunlight arrives from overhead at the equator but strikes high latitudes at a shallow angle, spreading the same energy over a wider area and through more atmosphere.

OCR GCSE Geography A J383

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Environmental Threats to Our Planet

The world’s climatic regions and global atmospheric circulation

3 things to know
Component 02

Overview

Where the equatorial, hot desert, savanna, temperate and polar climates are found and what each is like, why the equator receives more solar energy than the poles, what global circulation achieves, the Hadley, Ferrel and Polar cells, and the rising and sinking air of the Hadley cell.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Where are the world’s hot deserts, and what is their climate like?

Key term

What is the tropical grassland or savanna climate like?

Key term

Which climate type covers the mid-latitudes, and what are its seasons like?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Where is the equatorial climate found and what is it like?
Model answer
In a narrow belt either side of the equator, where it is hot and wet all year with heavy rain on most days.
2
Which belts of latitude are the world’s hot deserts strung along?
Model answer
Two belts roughly 30° north and 30° south of the equator, where rainfall is very low, days are extremely hot and nights are cold.
3
What is the tropical grassland or savanna climate like?
Model answer
Hot all year with one distinct wet season and one long dry season, found between the equatorial belt and the hot deserts.
4
Which climate type covers the mid-latitudes, and what are its seasons like?
Model answer
The temperate climate, roughly 40° to 60° north and south, with warm summers, cool winters and rainfall spread through the whole year.
5
What is the polar climate like and where is it found?
Model answer
Beyond about 66° north and south, where it is very cold all year and precipitation is low and mostly falls as snow.
6
Why does the equator receive far more solar energy than the poles?
Model answer
Sunlight arrives from overhead at the equator but strikes high latitudes at a shallow angle, spreading the same energy over a wider area and through more atmosphere.

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Ecosystems of the Planet

Environmental Threats to Our Planet

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The trade winds drive warm surface water .

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AMore sunspots mean the Sun is giving out more energy.

BMore reaches the Earth and the climate warms.

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