Atmospheric Temperature

Air temperature: The temperature of the air as observed at 1.2m above the ground surface.
Surface Temperature: Energy flows in and out of the Earth’s surface and the temperature at
the surface are determined by the net radiation at that surface. The surface energy balance
equation describes how net radiation, latent heat, and sensible heat flows as conduction and
convection all balance for a surface.
Five important factors influence air temperature:
A. Insolation
B. Latitude
C. Surface types
D. Coastal vs. interior location
E. Elevation
Measurement of Air Temperature - Air temperature is still measured in Fahrenheit degrees
in the United States, however, the Celsius temperature scale is the international standard. 100
Celsius degrees are the equivalent of 180 Fahrenheit degrees (1°C = 1.8°F; 1°F =
0.56°C).The boiling point of water is 100 C while the freezing point is 0 C. Two types of
devices are used to measure air temperature: The thermometer and the thermistor. While
thermometers are liquid-filled and need to be read visually, thermistors record temperature
variation through change in electrical resistance. Many weather stations are now equipped
with temperature measurement systems that use thermistors.

Temperature Structure of the Atmosphere: The atmosphere is largely warmed from

below. The farther away the air is from the Earth’s surface, the cooler the air will be. The
decrease in measured air temperature with increasing altitude is called the lapse rate. This
rate measures the drop in temperature in degrees Celsius per 1000m.
A. Troposphere - This is the lowest layer of the atmosphere and thus the most important.
Several features identify it:
1. Everyday weather phenomena occur mainly in the troposphere.
2. It contains significant amounts of water vapour.
3. The troposphere contains tiny dust particles called aerosols. Some of these aerosols serve
as nuclei, around which water vapour condenses to form tiny droplets. The height at which
the troposphere gives way to the stratosphere is known as the tropopause. Here, temperatures
stop decreasing with altitude and start to increase.
B. Stratosphere and Upper Layers - In the stratosphere, the air becomes slightly warmer as
altitudes increases. It extends to a height of roughly 50km above the Earth’s surface. The
ozone layer is contained in this layer. There are two additional layers above the stratosphere –
the mesosphere and the thermosphere.
1. Mesosphere – temperature decreases with elevation. This layer begins at the stratopause,
the altitude at which the stratospheric temperature ceases to increase with altitude. It ends at
the mesopause, the level at which temperature ceases to decrease with altitude.
2. Thermosphere – a layer of increasing temperature. However, at the altitude of the
thermosphere, the density of air is very thin and holds little heat.
3. Homosphere – The region that includes the first 100 km of atmosphere; the troposphere,
stratosphere, mesosphere, and the lower portion of the thermosphere.
4. Hetrosphere – exists above 100km. Gas molecules tend to become increasingly sorted into
layers by molecular weight and electric charge.
C. High-Mountain Environments - At higher elevations, the air is not as dense and with
fewer air molecules and aerosol particles to scatter and absorb the Sun’s light, the Sun’s rays
are stronger. There is also less carbon dioxide and water vapour, so the greenhouse effect is
reduced. With the reduced warming effect, temperatures will tend to drop lower at night. At
high elevations, the air pressure is lower because there is a smaller mass of air above.
D. Temperature Inversion - On a clear, calm night the ground surface radiates longwave
energy to the atmosphere, and the surface cools. If the surface continues to stay cold, a layer
of cooler air can accumulate underneath a layer of warm air. While air temperature normally
decreases with altitude in the troposphere, an inversion layer is indicated by a temperature
increase with altitude. The normal cooling trend is reversed. Low-level temperature
inversions often occur over snow-covered surfaces. Inversions of this type are very intense
and can extend thousands of meters into the atmosphere.
The Tilting of the Earth: Shaping Our Seasons and Climates
In early January each year, Earth reaches its closest distance to sun. At this time, the northern
hemisphere experiences winter while the southern hemisphere experiences summer. The
Earth travels to its farthest point from the sun at the beginning of July each year, when it is
summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Hurtling through space at an average speed of 18.4 miles per second (30km per second),
Earth is constantly changing its position with the sun. Not only is the Earth is orbiting around
the sun, but it also rotating on its axis at 1,070 miles per hour (1,722 km per hour), the speed
at the equator. It is, however, a common misconception that the Earth’s distance from the sun
determines how warm or cold the planet gets.

Earth’s distance from the sun remains relatively constant throughout its annual orbit. Earth’s
orbiting around the sun creates constantly changing temperatures and changing seasons on
our planets. The Earth is constantly changing its position with the sun. That’s because the
Earth tilts in relation to the sun. That is what creates the differences in the seasons and the
annual warming and cooling cycles of the Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis in a straight line through the planet from the North
Pole to the South Pole. The Earth spins around, or rotates, on its axis as it orbits the sun. The
key here is that as the Earth orbits the sun, different regions on Earth tilt both towards and
away from the sun, depending on the region’s respective hemisphere. This causes the sun’s
light and energy to hit the different regions of the Earth at different angles throughout the
course of one orbit, or one full year.
The Seasons
When the North Pole tilts most toward the sun, the Northern Hemisphere experiences
summer. This occurs when the Earth is farthest away from the sun, and begins around June
2122. Astronomers refer to the arrival of this event as the Summer Solstice in the Northern
Hemisphere. This is the time when Earth reaches its closest orbital distance to the sun. As the
Earth continues along its path around the sun, its angle constantly shifts the North Pole away
from the sun and the South Pole toward the sun. The sun’s energy is more concentrated on
the Northern Hemisphere where its rays hit the Earth more directly and are thus more intense.
At the same time, however, the Southern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, causing the
sun’s rays to hit the region more at an angle and with less intensity. This brings about winter
in the Southern Hemisphere, called the Winter Solstice.
The Equinoxes
Spring and Fall (or Autumn) occur midway on the Earth’s journey from winter to summer
and from summer to winter. These times occur when the sun appears to be directly over the
Earth’s equator and the length of days and nights are equal over most of the planet. On March
20 or 21 of each year, the Earth reaches the vernal equinox, which marks the arrival of spring
in the north and Fall in the south. The autumnal equinox occurs on September 22 or 23 and
marks the arrival of fall in the north and spring in the south.
Different Types of Seasons in India
According to weather phenomenon, the meteorological department of India recognizes four
different types of seasons.
1. The Hot Weather Season (March to May).
2. The Southwest Monsoon Season (June to September).
3. The Retreating Southwest Monsoon Season (October to November).
4. The Cold Weather Season (December to February).
There are regional variations in the length of period of these seasons in India. These
differences are significant as we move from the south towards the north. The Northern India
experiences a well make winter season due to well marked difference in the angle of the sun’s
rays. The Northern India has also a distinct hot weather season.
1. The Hot Weather Season (March to May)
The hot weather season begins in March and continues till the end of May. A rapid increase
in temperature is witnessed. Because, the sun moves northward and shines vertically near the
Tropic of Cancer, the temperature starts rising by middle of March. May is the hottest month
of the season. The highest temperature is recorded in the northwest and west.
Ex-Barmer in Rajasthan is a place where the mercury touches the 50°C. Many parts of central
India register 40°C temperature. Condition of low pressure develops over northwest and al
India. Local Storms of violent type occur during April and May.
2. The South-West Monsoon Season (June to September)
The Southwest monsoon generally blows from June to September. They bring rain. For this,
the season is known as Rainy Season. The monsoonal rains are responsible for agricultural
success in India. During summer, the maximum isolation is received on the Tropic of Cancer
and its vicinity. Consequently, low pressure centre develops over much of the northwest India
and central Asia. A comparatively high pressure condition prevails on the Indian Ocean in the
south. This results in the movement of winds from the sea to the land. Due to the rotation of
the earth, these winds deflect to the right in the northern hemisphere (according to Ferret’s
Law) and blow south-westerly. Thus the condition of the North-eastern Trade is disturbed
and their place is occupied by the southwest monsoons. The intensity of the low pressure is
so great that even the normal Southeast Trades are also disturbed arid winds from southern
hemisphere also cross the equator to join the southwest monsoon. Thus the velocity of the
southwest monsoons increases considerably. About middle of June, the southwest monsoon
‘burst’ with storm and rain. The advent of the rain bearing monsoon is called the ‘Monsoon
Burst’: The winds blow steadily and by the July the whole of the country comes under its
influence. As India is of peninsular shape, the southwest monsoons approach the land in two
separate currents:
1. The Arabian Sea Current and
2. The Bay of Bengal Current.
3. The Retreating South-West Monsoon Season (October to November)
By the end of September or early October, the intensity of low pressure and rainfall becomes
much less. Conditions which prevailed over north-western part and central part of India begin
to decrease. Consequently, the Southwest monsoon winds begin to retreat. They leave Punjab
plain by mid September, the Ganga delta by the late October and the south by early
November. This act of the monsoon winds in known as Retreat of Monsoon. During this
season, as the southwest monsoon winds retreat, the northeast monsoon winds approach and
sometimes they collide, resulting in the formation of Cyclones, particularly on the coastal
strip of the Bay of Bengal. In the West Bengal these Cyclones are known as ‘Aswiner Jhar’
or the storms of the autumn. They give some rains.
4. The Cold Weather Season (December to February)
The cold weather season starts in early Dec ember and continues till February. During this
season, the sun’s rays do not fall vertically in any [art of the country, because of the southerly
movement of the sun. The temperature decreases from south to north. The mean January day
temperature in Chennai is about 24°C while in the northern plain it is about 8° to 15°C. The
days are warm and nights are cold. Hence diurnal range of temperature is high. The snowfall
is common in some parts of the Himalayan range. The high pressure area develops over the
plains in the northwest regions. The winds blow from high pressure area to the low pressure
area over the south. These winds are called winter monsoons. They blow in northeast
direction.
Generally a fair weather prevails. It is characterized by clear skies, high pressure, low
humidity and rainless days. However, this fine weather is occasionally disturbed by the
cyclonic depressions visiting from the Mediterranean Sea. They bring rain in areas of Jammu
& Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and U.P. Sometimes, they invade
up to West Bengal. The amount of rainfall decreases towards the east. They also cause
snowfall in North-western Himalayan regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh
and Uttar Pradesh. As these west winds come from the west, they are popularly known as
‘Western Disturbances’. The precipitation offered by these winds, is of great importance for
Rabi Crops, especially wheat. The average precipitation varies from 20 mm. to 50 mm.
Winter rainfalls also occur along the coastal strip of Tamil Nadu. The northeast Monsoon
winds absorb moisture while blowing over the Bay of Bengal before crossing the coast.
These winds strike against the Eastern Ghats and cause rainfall on Coromandel Coast.