Scales of climate and their importance

i) Microclimate: Microclimate deals with the climatic features peculiar to small areas and with the

physical processes that take place in the layer of air very near to the ground. Soil-ground conditions,

character of vegetation cover, aspect of slopes, and state of the soil surface, relief forms – all these

may create special local conditions of temperature, humidity, wind and radiation in the layer of air

near the ground which differ sharply from general climatic conditions. One of the most important
tasks

of agricultural meteorology is to study the properties of air near the ground and surface layer of soil,

which falls under the micro climate.

ii) Meso climate: The scale of meso climate falls between micro and macro climates. It is concerned

with the study of climate over relatively smaller areas between 10 & 100 km across.

iii) Macro climate: Macro climate deals with the study of atmosphere over large areas of the earth
and

with the large scale atmospheric motions that cause weather. The scales of air motion in different

climates are given in the Table below.

If any weather system develops under different types of climate, it persists longer periods

under the macroclimate while smaller periods under micro climates.

Climate is described in on three levels, namely: Macroclimate, Mesoclimate (also named

topoclimate), Microclimate. Macroclimate is the climate of a region. Mesoclimate differs from the
macroclimate of the region due to differences in altitude, slope inclination, aspect or distance from
large bodies of water; this term usually describes the climate of a particular vineyard. Microclimate
is the climate surrounding the bunches within the vine canopy as modified by vine and canopy
management characteristics, and can differ within a few centimetres.

ADD FROM MICRO_CLIMATE.PDF

Factors affecting climate

i) Latitude: The distance from the equator, either south or north, largely creates variations in the

climate. Based on the latitude, the climate has been classified as

i) Tropical ii) Sub-tropical iii) Temperate & iv) Polar.

ii) Altitude(elevation): The height from the MSL creates variation in climate. Even in the tropical

regions, the high mountains have temperate climate. The temperature decreases by 6.5 ºC/Km from
the

sea level. Generally, there is also a decrease in pressure and increase in precipitation and wind

velocity. The above factors alter the kind of vegetation, soil types and the crop production.

iii) Precipitation: The quantity and distribution of rainfall decides the nature of vegetation and the

nature of the cultivated crops.

iv) Soil type: Soil is a product of climatic action on rocks as modified by landscape and vegetation

over a long period of time. The colour of the soil surface affects the absorption, storage and
reradiation of heat. White colour reflects while black absorbs more radiation. Due to differential

absorption of heat energy, variations in temperature are created at different places. In black soil
areas,

the climate is hot while in red soil areas, it is comparatively cooler due to lesser heat absorption.

v) Nearness to large water bodies: The presence of large water bodies like lakes and sea including its

current affect the climate of the surrounding areas, eg. Islands and coastal areas. The movement of
air

from earth’s surface and from water bodies to earth modify the climate. The extreme variation in

temperature during summer and winter is minimized in coastal areas and island.

vi) Topography: The surface of landscape (leveled or uneven surface areas) produces marked change

in the climate. This involves the altitude of the place, steepness of the slope and exposure of the
slope

to light and wind.

vii) Vegetation: Kinds of vegetation characterize the nature of climate. Thick vegetation is found in

tropical regions where temperature and precipitation are high. General types of vegetations present
in

a region indicate the nature of the climate of that region.

The earth's climate system is driven by two things.
The way energy from the sun moves in and out of the atmosphere
and the way heat moves around the atmosphere and the oceans
Energy from the sun is the main driver for our climate system
When the energy from the sun reaches the atmosphere
some is absorbed and some is reflected, mainly from clouds
Most of the remaining energy heats the Earth's surface
although again a tiny fraction is reflected.
The earth's surface then loses its heat again through rising air currents, radiation and the
evaporation of water.
Some of this heat passes straight through the atmosphere and back to space
but some is absorbed by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane and ozone.
Most of the air, nitrogen and oxygen, doesn't do this.
The atmosphere re-emits the absorbed heat.
Some escapes to space but some heats the earth's surface again.
Eventually all the heat escapes into space
but not before the temperature of the earth has been raised enough to allow us to survive.
If the greenhouse gases didn't absorb and re-emit heat, we wouldn't be able to live on earth.
If nothing else happened in the earth's climate system
weather and climate wouldn't change across the globe.
However, the sun's energy is distributed unevenly across the globe.
Because the earth tilts, the sun's intensity changes at different latitudes and in different seasons.
Generally there is more heat in the equator than there is at the poles.
In this example the variation is shown during the northern hemisphere winter.
To balance this inequality the climate system moves heat from the equator to the poles through the
atmosphere and the oceans.
In the tropics, near the equator, thunder clouds develop forcing warm air to rise
and then drift towards the poles at high levels.
Cooler air flows in the opposite direction at the earth's surface setting up cells.
Similar cells develop in other areas as you move towards the poles.
At the boundaries between these cells, air is either rising
from the earth's surface or falling down towards it.
Where the air is rising you will get low pressure, often with rain or snow.
Where it's coming down you will get high pressure and fine weather.
That's how heat is moved around the atmosphere.
Now let's see how it moves around the oceans.
Changes in sea temperatures and saltiness create ocean currents.
For example, the gulf stream is one of the strongest currents in the world.
Surface water in the North Atlantic is cooled by winds from the Arctic.
Cold, dense, salty water sinks and travels towards the equator deep in the ocean.
In turn, the Gulf Stream moves warm water
from the Gulf of Mexico north eastwards at the surface to replace it.
This brings warmth to northwest Europe making the climate milder than any other place at the same
latitude.
It is these interactions between the sun's energy and how
the atmosphere and the oceans move heat around the earth
which produce different climates in different parts of the world
and set up variations in out day to day weather.
A warming world caused by increases in greenhouse gases could upset
the delicate balance of our climate system and have an impact on our long term climate.