Introduction to Agro meteorology

Meteorology is the science that studies the atmosphere and its

phenomena.
Meteorological phenomenon:It is a weather event that include:
Drought- Dust storm – Heat waves- Thunder

Agricultural meteorology
Agro meteorology is an applied science which deals with the
relationship between weather /climate conditions and agricultural
production.
Why Meteorology is important?
1- Meteorology is important because of the impact of air conditions
on life.
2- It affects transportation: Windy and rainy weather affect planes and
ships).
3-It affects agricultural practices and Livestock as follows :
Extreme temperature and precipitation can prevent crops from
growing.
 Drought affects the growth of crops and livestock and can
cause starvation and reduce yields.
 Too much rainfall can be harmful and cause diseases to crops
(harmful fungus growth).
 Rain water that is not absorbed by the soil and plant roots
cause soil erosion.
IMPORTANCE TO CROP PRODUCTION
1. Helps in planning cropping patterns/systems.
2. Selection of sowing dates for optimum crop yields.
3. Determining the quantities of irrigation water to crops.
4. Reducing or eliminating outbreak of pests and diseases.
5. Managing weather abnormalities like, heavy rainfall, floods,
drought etc.
Weather and Climate
There is often confusion between weather and climate.
Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place over a
short period of time (day or two days),
Climate is the weather pattern of a place over a long period (one
month or a year or more).
What's the difference between weather and climate?
Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the
weather is the condition of the atmosphere over a short period of
time. Climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to
change, while the weather can change in just a few hours.
Climate elements
There are several elements that make up the weather and climate of a
place:
temperature, air pressure, humidity, wind and precipitation.

Weather forecasting
Is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the
atmosphere at a future time and given location.
Weather forecasts are made by:
Collecting data about the current state of the atmosphere ,
Using computer- based models that take many atmospheric factors
into account.
forecasting is a form of :
1- short-range weather forecasting; that is,
The forecasts up to about two hours ahead.
2- long-range climate forecasting which is the predictions for more
than two weeks.

Q: What is weather forecasting?

Q:Trying to predict the weather is known as weather ……………?
Q: Weather forecasting is based upon the analysis of meteorological
observations ().
Q: Forecasts in which the lead time for the prediction is more than
two weeks, are termed long-range climate predictions ().
Q:Meteorology aims at weather forecasting whereas, agro-
Meteorology aims at improving quantity and quality of crop
production ().
The atmosphere
The atmosphere is the layer of gases, commonly known as air, that
surrounds the planet Earth and is retained by Earth's gravity.
By volume, dry air contains:
78.09% nitrogen,
20.95% oxygen,
0.93% argon,
0.04% carbon dioxide,
and small amounts of other gases (trace gases) such as neon, helium,
Hydrogen. This mixture of gases is commonly known as air.
Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average
around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere

Function of the atmosphere

The atmosphere provides various functions:

1- It works as a place to contain the oxygen that is necessary for life.

2- It contains small amounts of carbon dioxide that is necessary for
plants to be able to live.
3- It works as a cover to shield the earth from harmful radiation
( absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation).
3- Reducing temperature extremes between day and night.
4-Plays a role in the water cycle: the air evaporates the water from
seas and oceans and then deposits this water where it is needed.

The water cycle

It shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and
atmosphere.
Liquid water evaporates into water vapor, condenses to form clouds,
and precipitates back to earth in the form of rain and snow.
Liquid water flows across land (runoff), into the ground (infiltration
and percolation), and through the ground (groundwater).
Groundwater moves into plants (plant uptake) and evaporates from
plants into the atmosphere (transpiration).
Assignment
What is Meteorology?
Define agro meteorology?
Weather is the condition of the atmosphere over a long period of time
( ).
Define the atmosphere and mention its functions?
The gaseous cover of the earth is known as the ……………..
………... is constantly pulling the atmosphere toward Earth’s surface.
What gases make up the Earthʹ s atmosphere?
STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE
Scientists divided the atmosphere into four layers according to
temperature:
a) Troposphere
b) Stratosphere
c) Mesosphere
d) Thermosphere
TROPOSPHERE layer
The closest layer to the Earth's surface, extending up to about 10-15
km above the Earth's surface. At the equator it is 16 km and 8 km
at the poles.
Under normal conditions the height of the troposphere changes from
place to place and season to season
Temperature and pressure drops as we go higher up the troposphere.
Various types of clouds, thunderstorms, cyclone (weather
phenomena) occur in this layer .
It contains 75% of the atmosphere's mass, because of the
concentration of almost all the water vapor and gases in it.
The boundaries between layers in the atmosphere have special
names.
The tropopause is the layer of air, which separates the troposphere
from the stratosphere.
What is troposphere?
The troposphere is the lowest major atmospheric layer, extending
from the Earth's surface up to the bottom of the stratosphere.
The troposphere is where all of Earth's weather occurs.

STRATOSPHERE layer
The second layer of earth 'atmosphere just above the troposphere. It
extends from about 15 to 50 km above the Earth's surface.
About 20% of the atmosphere's mass is contained in the stratosphere.
In the stratosphere the temperature increases with altitude, and the
stratopause is the region where a maximum in the temperature
occurs.
The increase of temperature with altitude is a result of the absorption
of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer.
Aircraft flights fly at this layer because it allows them to stay
above the turbulent weather of the troposphere.

The stratopause : is the boundary between the stratosphere and

the mesosphere layer.

Ozonosphere or Ozone Layer

The ozone layer is mainly found in the lower portion of the
stratosphere, from approximately 20 to 30 Km above Earth.
A thin layer of ozone molecules (O3) (3 oxygen atoms) have
protected life on Earth from the effects of ultraviolet rays. It absorbs
harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Q: Why are there "ozone holes" in the stratosphere?
Atmospheric ozone is rapidly destroyed by chemical processes.
The amount of UV-B reaching Earth’s surface is greatly reduced. UV-
A (315- to 400-nm wavelength) solar radiation is not strongly
absorbed by the ozone layer and reaches the earth.
MESOSPHERE layer
The third layer, directly above the stratosphere, extending from 50 to
80 km above the Earth's surface.
The mesosphere is a cold layer where:
 the temperature generally decreases with increasing altitude .
This is due to:
1-The air is much thinner (less dense) in the mesosphere. There are
fewer air molecules to absorb incoming electromagnetic radiation
from the Sun.
2-Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. That means it helps trap heat
coming from the Sun in our atmosphere. Without carbon dioxide in
our air, the Earth would be very cold.
The CO2 releases some of that energy as photons in a process called
radiative emission. Some of those photons travel upward into space.
This carries heat away from the mesosphere.

The-mesosphere-help-protect-the-earth-from-meteoroids, most
meteors from space burn up in this layer.
The mesopause is the boundary between the mesosphere and the
thermosphere above it.

THERMOSPHERE layer
It is the layer directly above the mesosphere. It extends from 80 to
between 500 and 1,000 km above the Earth's surface to outer space.
Temperatures highly dependent on solar activity, and can rise to
1,700 °C (3,100 °F) or more. Temperatures are high due to absorption
of highly energetic solar radiation.

The ionosphere layer

Extends throughout the thermosphere into the mesosphere.
The ionosphere is defined as the layer that is ionized by solar and
cosmic radiation. It lies 75-1000 km above the Earth.
The ionosphere reflects the radio waves So, long distance radio
communication is possible due to this layer.
The thermosphere is home to the International Space Station as it
orbits Earth.
And also where we find low Earth orbit satellites

The ionosphere has major importance to us because:

 1- It absorbs Cosmic rays, gamma rays, X-rays and Ultraviolet
radiation.
2- The ionized electrons behave as free particles. It influences radio
waves propagation to distant places on the Earth. It helps in reflecting
radio waves.
Assignment
what are the characteristics of the troposphere?
What is the importance of stratosphere?
Why is the ozone layer important?
Why is atmosphere important for life on earth?
Assignment
1-What layer of the atmosphere does weather occur?
2-How high is the troposphere from the equator?
3-The most abundant gas in the atmosphere by volume is _________.
This gas comprises 78% of the Earth atmosphere by volume.
a. Oxygen c. Carbon Dioxide
b. Argon d. Nitrogen

1-The earth layers are ………,………,……,………

2-Climates elements are ……,……,…….,.…,…..
3-The ozone layer is located in the …………layer.
4- The ionosphere help in………..and…….
5-Most clouds form and weather phenomena occur within the
………………..layer.
6- …………..is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar
radiation.
7- The upper boundary of the mesosphere is the …………….
8- Temperature of the thermosphere is high and
depend on ………., and can rise to …….°C .

Factors affecting climate

1- Distance from the equator
The equator and tropical areas get more direct sunlight (the sun's rays
are vertical)than areas to the north or south.
This means that the climate is cooler further from the Equator
At the poles, energy from the sun reaches the Earth's surface at lower
angles (non-vertical angle) and passes through a thicker layer of
atmosphere than at the equator.
The sun strikes the earth surface at different angles, the more slanted
the sun's rays are, the longer they travel through the atmosphere,
becoming more scattered and diffuse.
the Equator
On Earth, the Equator is an imaginary line on the surface, equidistant
from the North and South poles, dividing the Earth into Northern and
Southern Hemispheres.
2-The shape of the land (known as 'relief' or 'topography')
Climate can be affected by mountains. Mountains receive more
rainfall than low lying areas and when the air rises, it cools, causing
moist air to condense and fall out as rainfall. The higher the elevation
of a region, the colder it is. That is why you may see snow on the
top of mountains all year round.

3-Distance from the sea and ocean:

The sea affects the climate of a place. Coastal areas are cooler and
wetter than inland areas. As the distance from the sea or ocean
increases, the temperature increases.
4-Direction of prevailing winds
Winds that blow from the sea often bring rain to the coast These
winds are cool in the summer, mild in the winter and tend to bring
wet weather.
Whereas, the inland areas have dry weather.

The Greenhouse Effect

Is the trapping of heat by a layer of gases surrounding the earth
(troposphere layer).
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases all help
trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere preventing it from escaping thus
keep the Earth warm.
The main effect of increased greenhouse gas emissions is global
warming.

The trapping of heat is called the greenhouse effect ().

Q: Why is the amount of carbon dioxide in the troposphere
increasing?
Human activities, the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have
intensified the greenhouse effect, causing global warming.

1- SOLAR RADIATION
SOLAR RADIATION is the amount of radiant energy emitted by
the sun that reaches the Earth.
Solar radiation types include:
Visible light, infrared light , ultraviolet light, and x-rays.

The amount of solar radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth's
surface varies according to:
Geographic location
Time of day
Season
Local landscape
Local weather.

2-Temperature
Temperature is how hot or cold the atmosphere is, how many degrees
it is above or below freezing and is measured with a thermometer.

Temperature is a very important factor in determining the

weather.
Why temperature is a very important factor for weather?
Because it influences or controls other elements of the weather, such
as precipitation, humidity, clouds and atmospheric pressure.
Temperature and altitude
The air temperature decreases by 6.5 degrees C for every 1000
meters (1 km).
Q: What happens to the temperature of the atmosphere as the altitude
increases?
Temperature Scales

The centigrade scale is known as the Celsius scale.

The scale is based on 0° for the freezing point of water and 100° for
the boiling point of water at 1 atm pressure
The Fahrenheit scale. The difference is that the normal freezing point
of water is designated as 32 degrees and the normal boiling point of
water is designated as 212 degrees in the Fahrenheit scale.
3-Air pressure
Air has weight and so exerts a certain pressure on the earth.
Air pressure definition:
A weight of a column of air of one square centimeter (cm 2) in cross-
section, measured from sea level to the top of the atmosphere.

Measuring units
The value of air pressure is given in varying units, including
millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), atmospheres (atm), bar or millibars
(mb) and pascal (Pa).

The atmospheric pressure is equivalent to the pressure exerted by a

column of mercury that is 760 millimeters high which is equal to
1013 millibars.

Weather maps
Temperature, pressure, wind, humidity are shown on a weather map.
Pressure is shown on a weather map, often with lines called isobars.
Isobar:
is a line connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure on the
weather map.
Factors affecting air pressure
1- Altitude (or height above sea level):
Air pressure decrease with increasing elevation.
Regions of higher elevation have lower air pressures compared to
those areas closer to sea level.
This is due to the decrease of air density with height away from the
surface of the earth .
2- Temperature:
The higher the temperature the lower the air pressure‚ and The lower
the temperature the greater the air pressure.

When the temperature of a place increases, air expands ,the density of

the air in the area decreases and thus atmospheric pressure decreases.
3-Water vapor concentration:
A volume of wet (or humid) air weighs less than an equal volume of
dry air.
Therefore humid air is less dense and exerts less pressure than dry air.

‫ التي تزن‬، ‫ يتكون الهواء الجاف من جزيئات النيتروجين واألكسجين‬: ‫معلومات عامة‬
.‫أكثر من جزيئات الماء‬
Note that : Dry air consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen molecules,
which weigh more than water molecules.

Assignment
Air pressure is highest at sea level, why?
Ans.: because the density of gases is highest in lower layers.
Assignment
What is the relation between water vapour and air pressure?
Ans.: Water vapour is lighter than air. If the water vapour (or
humidity) of a place is high, the weight of the air column in that place
would be lower so, the atmospheric pressure in that place would be
low.
What is the definition of air pressure?
You experience …… ……. atmospheric pressure at lower elevations
and ………. atmospheric pressure in higher elevations.
High temperature causes ……….. air pressure while low temperature
causes….air pressure
What are the two factors that affecting atmospheric pressure?
A- Temperature and time.
B- Altitude and time.
C- Temperature and altitude.
Why air pressure depend on temperature?
Answer: Temperature affects air pressure by causing the air to expand
, warm air is less dense than cold air, and as air becomes less dense,
its pressure decreases.
1-Air pressure is higher at lower altitudes ( ).
2- Air pressure increase with the increase in temperature ( ).
3- Air Pressure is measured with thermograph ( ).
4- When the mercury of thermometer rises, mercury of
barometer falls ( ).
5- Polar regions have high pressure due to low temperature ( ).
4- Humidity
Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.
Humidity can be in form of precipitation, dew, or fog.

Colder air holds less moisture. This is why air Conditioned

environments tend to be so dry.
What is Dew?

Dew, is the condensation of water vapor due to temperature drops to

form liquid dew. Dew does not affect visibility.
It often appears on grass, leaves, and metal surfaces as fine water
droplets.

What is Fog?
Fog is a thick cloud appearing close or at the earth’s surface that can
reduce visibility greatly. Fog normally forms when air cools to a point
where condensation is reached.
Humidity can be expressed as an : absolute, relative and specific
humidity.
Absolute humidity is the water content of air at a given temperature
expressed in (gram per cubic meter, gm/m3 ).
Specific humidity is the water content of air at a given temperature
expressed in
(gram per kilogram , gm/kg).
Relative humidity: is the ratio between the water vapor content in air
and the maximum water vapor content that the air could hold at a
given temperature.

Relative humidity is defined also as the ratio of the actual water

vapor pressure to the saturation vapor pressure.
1- What Is Humidity?
2- Define dew point?
3- Absolute humidity is the total mass of water vapor present in a
given volume of air ( ).
4- A higher dew point means there is more moisture in the air ().
5- Wind
Wind is the movement of air masses, especially on the Earth's surface.
When a difference in atmospheric pressure exists, air moves from the
higher to the lower pressure area, resulting in winds of various
speeds.
Types of wind
1-The prevailing wind:
Which are winds that blow consistently in a given direction over a
particular region on Earth
2-Daily wind that include:
Sea Breeze and Land Breeze.
Mountain and Valley Breezes
What is Sea Breeze?
This process occurs during the daytime. Both the sea and the land
surface is heated up by the sun. The sea heats up slower than the land
because it has a much higher heat capacity. Thus, the temperature
 over the land surface increases. The air flow from the sea to the land
is termed as the sea breeze.

What is Land Breeze?

This process takes place for the duration of the night and the sea breeze
process gets reversed.
Both, the land and the sea start cooling down when the sunsets. As the
land is cools down quicker than the sea, the air flows from the land to
the sea which is termed the land breeze.
6- Precipitation
Precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water
vapor that falls under gravity.
Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes
saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and
"precipitates".
The precipitation is measure on the basis of vertical depth of water.
The unit is the millimeter or inch.
Wind speed is caused by air moving from high pressure to low
pressure ( ).
Anemometer is measure the volume of water that is stored in the
cylinder ( ).

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Is the amount of water evaporating from the soil and bodies of water
in a given area combined with the water that transpires metabolically
from nearby plant leaves.
It is Abbreviated as "ET" and Measured in millimeters .
Evapotranspiration is an indicator of how much water a plant requires
over a given period of time (day, week, month, year).

Lysimeter and pan evaporation are methods used to determine ET.