We are sure that, with the whole issue of air pollution, the lack of rain and other related issues that we are experiencing today, you will have wondered at some point, or at least rambled, about the relationship between the state of our atmosphere and the weather. What is the link between them? How does one influence the other? In this Green Ecologist article we try to explain it to you so, if you are interested in knowing more, keep reading to discover how the atmosphere influences the weather. Attentive!
Climate and time are two different concepts
Before going fully into the article, we must highlight something very important. We often confuse and use the terms "climate" and "weather" interchangeably. The truth is that they are two concepts that, although related, are different.
We call "climate" the mean of the parameter values such as the temperature, humidity, rainfall, cloud cover, atmospheric pressure, etc., of a certain region over the years. The climate of the different terrestrial regions is influenced by the interaction that exists between the lithosphere, the atmosphere and the hydrosphere.
When we talk about "weather"Instead, we are referring to these parameters, but in a specific time and place and they may be different from the climate of that site, that is, the weather is changeable.
What is the atmosphere and its functions
What do we understand by atmosphere? In general, the atmosphere is called the mixture of gases that surrounds celestial objects in space that present a gravitational field that makes these gases keep enveloping it without dispersing, as in our case, the Earth.
Our atmosphere is mainly composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (0.9%) and carbon dioxide (0.03%), as well as water vapor and ozone, among others.
The atmosphere has many functions. In addition to enveloping and protecting our planet from intense solar radiation and the collision of small objects from space and providing the necessary gases for living beings on the planet, it is also an element very influential in the parameters that determine the weather and climate.
The elements and factors that determine the climate
As we said, the climate is influenced by multiple factors, but, before going to detail them, we must know for sure what elements determine the climate of different places on Earth. These elements are nothing other than Meteorological phenomena produced in our atmosphere and are:
- Temperature: it measures how much heat the atmosphere has and the most widely used scales are degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit.
- Wind: refers to the horizontal movement of the air present in the atmosphere and which is responsible for the displacement of cloud masses.
- Humidity: measures how much water vapor is in the atmosphere. In large quantities it gives rise to banks of fog and clouds.
- Atmospheric pressure: It is measured in millibars, it is the force produced by the atmosphere as a pressure on the earth's surface.
- Precipitation: This is the name given to water that falls in liquid form (rain) or solid form (snow or hail) on the earth's surface.
Once the elements that make up the climate are known, we can proceed to describe the factors that determine the climate on Earth:
- The altitude: It is the distance that a certain point has with respect to sea level. When this increases, the temperature decreases by around one degree every 180 meters, the air becomes less dense and precipitation increases.
- Latitude: in this case it is the distance from a point on earth to the Equator. The closer to it we are, the temperatures will be higher as the Sun's rays strike with greater perpendicularity.
- The influence of the sea: as it has a softening effect on the temperature of coastal areas, which varies less between day and night.
- The relief: This factor is closely related to the altitude factor and will determine, among other things, the form of precipitation, which can be liquid (rain), solid (snow or hail) and even gaseous (fog banks). Learn more about how relief influences the climate in this other article by Ecologist Verde.
But where is the atmosphere in all of this? Keep reading.
So how does the atmosphere influence weather?
Now, although we can already get a little idea, the time has come to enter into the real question of this article: How does the atmosphere influence time?
The molecules found in the atmosphere are always in constant change, but always maintaining a natural stable equilibrium, which does not mean that they are not produced. seasonal changes in our atmosphere. What is happening is that this natural balance is being altered with, among others, the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, which are affecting various natural cycles, among others, that of water.
What's more, the atmosphere acts as a filter selective of the solar rays that penetrate it and the radiation that remains inside. However, these gases in the excessive quantities that are found are causing the heat to be trapped to a greater extent, increasing the global temperature of our planet.
By all this we mean that any change in the composition of the atmosphere It can cause adverse effects on the climate dynamics of our planet, such as the greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change. This is producing very important changes such as the increased temperatures, the absence of rainfall, high intensity climatic phenomena, floods caused by the melting of the polar ice caps, loss of biodiversity and natural spaces …
Once again we verify, in this case through the atmosphere, that the changes that alter the natural balance of the processes of our planet have serious consequences in the short, but above all, in the long term.
Also, here at the end you can see a video about various curiosities of the atmosphere.
If you want to read more articles similar to How the atmosphere influences the weather, we recommend that you enter our category of Other environment.
