GeES 2013

By Elias T.
January 2022
Objectives of the unit
At the end of this unit you will be able to:

 Define weather, climate, meteorology and climatology

 Identify the various elements of weather and climate

 List controls of weather and climate

 Measurements of climate and weather
 Many people, including those who claim to know
something about geography, are heard of using climate
and weather interchangeably.

 Though both terms, weather and climate, are the

description of the physical conditions of the atmosphere
(moisture, temperature, pressure, and wind), they would
not replace each other. They carry different connotations.
 Weather can be defined as a description of a short
term (momentary) physical condition of the atmosphere
(i.e. its pressure, temperature humidity, winds, etc.) or it
is the day to day state of the atmosphere.

 Climate is an average weather conditions, but it would

be more meaningful when we define it as the “long term
state of the atmosphere encompassing the aggregate of
all weather phenomena”.
 Though climate of certain area is summarized on the
basis of average weather values observed in an area over a
long period of time (usually 30-35 years),

 it also takes into account extreme values, and thus,

climate is the sum total of daily weather events as
observed over a long period of time.
 The coming of the term “meteorology” in to use goes
back to the time of the ancient Greek philosopher,
Aristotle, who wrote a book on natural philosophy entitled
“Meteorological” about 340 B.C . This work represented
the sum of knowledge on weather and climate as well as
astronomy, geography and chemistry.
 In fact¸ the birth of meteorology as a genuine natural
science did not take place until the invention of such
weather instruments like thermometer, barometer and
hygrometer in17th and 18th centuries.

 Some of the topics included in metrology were such

atmospheric phenomena like clouds, rain, snow, wind,
hail, and hurricanes.
 Both Meteorology and climatology are
specialized sciences concerned with the study
of the earth’s atmosphere, so that both are the
sciences of the atmosphere, yet they are not
exchangeable concepts.
 Meteorology, also called the physics of the
atmosphere, is concerned with the study
weather.
 In doing so, it also studies the other sub-
systems of the earth: hydrosphere, lithosphere,
and biosphere. This is because; all the four
spheres of the earth are functioning together.
 Meteorology is divided into a number of specialized
sciences: physical meteorology, dynamic meteorology,
synoptic meteorology, agricultural Meteorology and
micrometeorology.

 1. Physical meteorology: deals with the physical aspects of

the atmosphere, such as the formation of clouds, rain,
thunderstorms, and lightning. Physical meteorology also
includes the study of visual events such as mirages, rainbows,
and halos.
2. Dynamic Meteorology: is the study of the winds and
the laws that govern atmospheric circulation.

3. Synoptic meteorology: is the study and analysis of

large weather systems that exist for more than one day.
Weather forecasting is part of synoptic meteorology.

4. Agricultural meteorology: deals with weather and its

relationship to crops and vegetation.

5. Micro-climatology: The study of atmospheric

conditions over an area smaller than 1 sq km (0.4sq mi).
 Data on elements of weather and climate near the
surface of the earth are secured using the meteorological
instruments available in meteorological stations.

 These instruments, however, would not be used to

measure atmospheric characteristics away from the
surface of the earth.
 Meteorologists have developed several sophisticated
instruments capable of measuring multiple physical
characteristics of the air, simultaneously at more than one
location.

 The most important of these special instruments are

radiosondes, Doppler radar, and weather satellites.
i. Radiosondes

 A radiosonde measures air temperature, air pressure, and

humidity from the earth’s surface up to an altitude of about
30,000m (about 100,000 ft).

 The radiosonde consists of a small box attached to a gas-

filled balloon. It is a meteorological instrument that contains a
package of instruments.

 As the balloon rises, a barometer measures air pressure, a

thermometer measures temperature, and hygrometer measures
humidity.
 All of this information is transmitted by radio back to
the ground. Special tracking equipment monitors the
movement of the radiosond, and this tracking information
is then converted into wind speed and wind direction.

 When the balloon bursts, the radiosond descends to the

earth by parachute.
II. Doppler radar

 Doppler radar provides meteorologists with information

about precipitation and storms. A radar unit sends out a pulse
of microwaves.

 When the microwaves strike objects, such as falling

precipitation, some of the microwaves are reflected back to the
radar unit, where they are detected by an antenna and
displayed on a screen.

 The elapsed time between transmission and return indicates

how far away the precipitation is.
 Doppler radar can determine wind speed by measuring the
speed at which precipitation is moving horizontally toward or
away from the radar antenna.

 It does this by measuring the change in frequency of the

returning microwaves:

 the frequency of the returning waves decreases if the rain is

moving away from the radar unit and increases if the rain is
moving toward it.

 This change in frequency is called the Doppler Effect.

 Meteorologists also use Doppler radar to peer into
severe thunderstorms and locate tornadoes. Presently,
there is a network of 135 Doppler radar units at selected
sites within the continental United States.
iii. Weather Satellites

 A weather satellite is a cloud-observing platform in

space. Satellites provide cloud observations day and night
over vast regions. There are two main types of weather
satellites: geostationary satellites and polar orbiting
satellites.
 Geostationary satellites orbit the earth at the same rate
that the earth spins. Hence, they remain about 36,000 km
(about 22,000 mi) above a fixed spot on the equator, and
constantly monitor a specific region below them.

 Successive cloud photographs from geostationary

satellites provide meteorologists with valuable
information about the development, movement, and
dissipation of weather fronts, storms, and clouds.
 Polar orbiting satellites situated about 850 km (about 530
mi) above the earth’s surface, pass over the North and South
poles on each orbit, photographing the clouds directly beneath
them.

 Because the earth rotates beneath the satellite, each orbit

enables the satellite to monitor an area that is west of its
previous pass.

 Thus, the satellite photographs the entire surface of the earth

every 12 hours. Since polar orbiting satellites observe clouds
at a much lower altitude than geostationary satellites, they
provide more photographic detail of cloud systems.
 B. Climatology
 On the other hand, climatology, which is a branch of
meteorology, studies about climate. That is, first, it
seeks to describe and explain the nature of climate;
 why it differs from place to place & time to time, and
how it is related to the other elements of the natural
environment (vegetation, land form, altitude, etc) and
to human activities
 Hence, like meteorology, it integrates all sub systems of
the earth. It is closely allied with meteorology and extends
the findings of meteorologists in time and space to
encompass the entire earth.

 The study of climate comprises three fundamental

subdivisions:

 physical elements and processes,

 climatic patterns, and

 applications.
 Climatology has a wide scope and it can be subdivided
either on the basis of the topics emphasized or on the
scale of the atmospheric phenomena that are emphasized.
Ayoade (2004) identified the six topical subdivision of
climatology among others as follows:
Regional climatology: - tries to bring about the orderly
arrangement of world climates.

It identifies major types of world climate and gives

explanatory description of each type of climate.

Regional climatology implies the concept of scale.

Synoptic climatology: It is the study of the weather and

climate over an area in relation to the pattern of the
pervading atmospheric circulation.
Physical climatology: It involves investigating the
behavior of weather elements or processes in the
atmosphere in terms of physical principles.
Emphasis is on global energy and water balance regimes
of the earth and the atmosphere.
Dynamic climatology: It places emphasis on the
atmospheric motions on various scales, particularly the
general circulation of the atmosphere.
Applied climatology: It is the application of
climatologically knowledge and principles to solving
problems facing mankind.
Historical climatology: It is the study of the
development of climate through time
Several other subdivisions are recognized in the literature.
These are, for instance, agricultural climatology,
bioclimatology, building climatology, urban climatology,
statistical climatology, etc.
 Regional climatologists use different criteria to identify
significant climatic types of the world and classify the
world on the basis of climate types.

 There are three types of classification systems. Namely:

 (a) Empirical classifications

 (b) Genetic classifications

 (c) Applied classification.

 (a) Empirical classification- refers to the classification of
climate of the world on the basis of observable features of
climate, which may be treated singly, or jointly to establish
four climatic types.

 Temperature criteria, for example, might yield “hot”, warm”,

“cool” and “cold” climate types.

 The classifications made by Koppen and Thornthwait are

examples of empirical classifications, as they divided the
world on the basis of temperature and rainfall data.
 (b) Genetic classifications. The ancient Greeks devised
a system known as a system of climate, or zones. On the
basis of the relationship between latitude and
temperature, they divided the world into climatic
regions: torrid (hot), temperate and Polar (frigid).

 Other than latitude, terrain features, mountain barriers,

the distribution of land and water bodies were other
grounds for genetic classification.
 (c) Applied classification: It tries to explore the relation
of climate to other phenomena and considers its
potential effects on human welfare, finally confronting
the possibility of modifying climates to meet human
needs.
 Elements (or components) of weather and climate
refer to elements through which change in the
atmosphere manifests itself.
 The elements primarily include sunshine,
temperature, humidity, precipitation, air pressure and
wind etc. Cloudiness, fog, sunshine period, etc,
 Elements of weather and climate vary from place to
place and time to time. They vary both spatially and
temporally.
 For instance, people living in Jimma Town and
people living in Semera Town don’t experience
similar temperature, as Semera is located at relatively
lower elevation,
 These factors that bring change in the elements of
weather and climate are called controls (factors) of
elements of weather and climate.

 The controls of weather and climate include:

• Latitudinal variation , Altitude

 Pressure Wind

 Ocean current Distance from the sea

 Mountain barriers etc.

Latitude (distance from the equator)
 The latitudinal locations of places determine the amount
of solar energy they receive by each unit area.
 This is because latitudinal location determines the angle
at which the sun’s rays strike the earth’s surface.
 When the angle at which the sun’s rays strike the earth’s
surface is vertical, each unit area receives large amount of
solar energy because of concentration of light.
While slanting (oblique) rays result in small amount of
solar radiation per unit area due to more albedo( Proportion of
incident lightthat is reflected by a surface) more scattering(change in direction of motion), and

more dispersion.
Altitude:
 We think that as we move vertically away from the
earth towards the sun, temperature would increase.
However, this is not the case within the troposphere.
 The earth absorbs and radiates heat; therefore,
temperature is usually warmest at the earth’s surface
and lower as elevation increases.
 The change of temperature with altitude in
troposphere is known as temperature gradient.
 The average lapse rate is about 6.50 c per 1000 meter.
This is called environmental (normal) lapse rate.
Moreover, temperature decreases with increasing
elevation due to the fact that air density (the number
of air molecules per unit area) becomes few to trap
heat energy radiated by the earth and the sun.
 Ocean Currents: refer to the movement of ocean water
parallel to the surface of the earth.
 Ocean water moving from low latitude (00 to 400 N and
S) toward the high latitude is termed as warm ocean
currents, while those moving towards the tropics are
called cold Surface of the earth termed as cold ocean
currents.
 Warm ocean currents have a warming effect while cold
ocean currents have a cooling effect on the coastal
climate.
Distribution of Land and Water Bodies

Two places having the same altitude and latitudinal locations

may experience different daily and annual ranges of
temperature, due to differences in their locations with
respect to water bodies.

Places nearer to water bodies are said to have maritime

climate, and characterized by relatively small daily and
annual ranges of temperature-two months seasonal heating
and cooling lags, and a greater quantity of atmospheric
moisture.
 Places away from water bodies (inland places) are
characterized by continental climate.

 Places with continental climate have large daily

and annual temperature ranges, one month seasonal
and cooling lags, and

 a relative tendency toward low amount of

precipitation, fog, cloudiness and humidity.
 A Climate Data Record (CDR) is a specific definition
of a climate data series, It is defined as "a time series
of measurements of sufficient length, consistency,
and continuity to determine climate variability and
climate change.".
 Such measurements provide an objective basis for the
understanding and prediction of climate
 Example
 Climate variables (CVs) (e.g. daily min, max, mean
air temperature, total precipitation amount, …)
 Climate indices (e.g. drought index, cold spell index,
soil moisture index, …) indicators use different
indices
 modelled datasets (e.g. animal phenology data,
distribution of species)
 Appendix A CLIMATE STATISTICS (DATA)

TABLE A

MATE SAMPLE PLACES J F M A M J J A S O N D

E
ATORIAL Entebbe 03oN T 27 27 27 26 25 25 25 26 27 27 26 26
MATE Uganda R.F 65 85 150 250 225 125 75 75 75 112 125 125
Doula 4oN T 27 27 27 27 27 26 25 25 25 26 26 27
61 88 226 240 353 472 710 726 628 399 146 60
Cameroon R.F
PICAL Harare 17o50ꞌS T 24 23 22 21 20 18 17 18 20 23 24 24
VANA) Zimbabwe R.F 200 175 100 25 20 50 100 175
MATE
Kano 12oN T 21 24 28 31 30 28 26 25 26 27 25 22
Nigeria R.F 2 8 71 119 209 311 137 14
PICAL Wadi Halfa 22oN T 15 16 21 26 31 32 32 32 30 28 22 17
ERT AND Sudan (N) R.F 1 1 1
I DESERT Wind hoek22o35ꞌS T 27 27 26 25 22 20 20 23 26 27 29 30
MATE
Namibia R.F 125 75 50 10 7 5 3 3 7 3 35
PICAL Beira 20oS T 27 28 27 26 23 21 20 21 23 25 26 27
RITIME Mozambique R.F 265 225 244 105 68 42 37 30 27 29 133 134
NSOON) Durban 29o49ꞌS T 25 26 24 22 20 17 17 18 19 21 23 24
MATE
RSA R.F 112 125 135 85 50 25 25 37 75 125 125 125
HLAND Addis Ababa 9oN T 17 18 19 19 19 17 15 15 16 16 17 17
UNTAIN) ETHIOPIA R.F 24 25 67 93 53 105 239 266 174 43 3 18
MATE QUITO T 15 15 15 14.7 15 14.4 14.4 15 15 15 14.7 15
Equator 99 112 142 175 137 43 20 31 69 112 97 79
ecuador r.f
ITERRAN ALGIERS 37oN T 10 11 13 15 18 22 24 25 23 19 15 12
ALGERIA R.F 116 76 57 65 36 14 2 4 27 84 93 117
MATE o
Cape Town 34 S T 20 20 19 16 14 13 12 12 14 15 18 19
RSA R.F 11 15 14 53 89 84 83 73 45 31 17 11
KEY
T: Temperature in degrees Celsius R.F: Rainfall in millimeters
 This article throws light upon the eight elements of
climate measured by weather instruments.
 The elements are:
1.Rainfall 2. Pressure 3. Temperature
4. Humidity 5. Winds 6. Sunshine
7.Clouds 8. Other Elements Pertaining to
Visibility.
 Rainfall including other forms of precipitation (snow,
sleet and hail) is always measured by a metal instrument
called a rain gauge.

 A rain gauge (also known as an udometer,

pluviometer, or an ombrometer) is an instrument used
by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and
measure the amount of liquid precipitation over an area
in a predefined period of time.
 It is used for determining the depth of precipitation
(usually in mm) that occurs over a unit area and thus
measuring rainfall amount.

 It consists of a copper cylinder with a metal funnel

either 5 inches or 8 inches in diameter, which leads into
a smaller copper container or a glass bottle.
 The hole in the funnel that leads down to the container is
very small so that evaporation of the collected rain is
minimized.
 The gauge should be at least one foot above the ground
and firmly fastened, to avoid splashing.
 If the rain gauge is circular:

 Area = (π x d2) / 4, where d is the diameter of the rain

gauge and π = 3.14159

 The calculation is as follows:

 Total Rain = Water Volume / Area

 The measurement of the rainfall is done by removing

the funnel, emptying the rain in the container into a
graduated cylinder with a 1½ inch diameter.

 The reading should be done at eye-level and to an

accuracy of 0.01 inch. For greater accuracy, a special
kind of taper measure.
 The mean annual rainfall is obtained from the aver-
ages of annual rainfall taken over a long period of say
35 years.

 For plotting in rainfall maps, places having the same

mean annual rainfall are joined by a line called an
isohyets, as shown in many atlases.
 Water Volume (V) = Water Catchement Area × Rainfall Height
 Example:
 Calculate volume of rainfall with height as 12 cm and
catchment area as 8 cm2
 Solution:

V = 12 x 8
3
= 96 cm
 Air is made up of a number of mixed gases and has
weight.
 It therefore exerts a pressure on the earth’s surface
which varies from place to place and from time to
time.
 This force that presses on the surface of any object
can be fairly accurately measured.
 The instrument for measuring pressure is a
barometer,
 At sea level, the mercury column is 29.9 inches, or
760mm.
 If the pressure increases, the air pressing on the
surface will force up the mercury column to about 31
inches (high pressure).
 When the pressure decreases, as less air presses on
the surface, the mercury column will drop about 28
inches (low pressure).
 A new unit known as the millibar (mb) was adopted
by meteorological stations in 1914.

 A normal atmospheric pressure equivalent to 14.7 mb.

per square inch in weight or a reading of 29.9 inches of
mercury in the column is 1013 millibars.

 On maps places of equal pressure are joined by lines

called isobars.
 In aero planes, a modified type of aneroid barometer
called an altimeter is used.
 As pressure decreases with altitude at an approximate
rate of 1 inch drop in the mercury reading for every
900 feet ascent, the altimeter gives the reading in feet
for height attained instead of millibars or inches.
 A millibar (mb) is 1/1000th of a bar, a unit for
measurement of pressure.
 It is not an SI unit of measure, however it is one of
the units used in meteorology when describing
atmospheric pressure
as aresult, 29.9inch=760mm=1013mb
 Element # 3. Temperature:
 Temperature is a very important element of climate
and weather.

 The instrument for measuring temperature is the

thermometer which is a narrow glass tube filled with
mercury or alcohol.

 It works on the principle that mercury expands when

heated and contracts when cooled.
 On thermometers, temperatures are marked in one of
two ways.

 In °F. (Fahrenheit) the freezing-point is 32°F. and the

boiling-point is 212°F.

 For most scientific purposes the Centigrade °C scale

is preferred. Its freezing-point is 0°C. and its boiling-
point is 100°C.
 If you know the temperature in Fahrenheit and want to
convert it to Celsius
 The formula is: . C = 5/9 x (F-32) where C is Celsius . To
clarify the idea, use an example.

 Example: Convert 98.6° Fahrenheit (normal

body temperature) to Celsius First:

 98.6° − 32 = 66.6

 Then: 66.6 × 5 = 333

 Then: 333 / 9 = 37° C

 Element # 4. Humidity:
 Humidity is a measure of the dampness of the
atmosphere which varies greatly from place to place at
different times of day.

 The actual amount of water vapour present in the air,

which in grams per cubic meter, is called the absolute
humidity.
 For example, a maximum of about 30 grams of water
vapor can exist in a cubic meter volume of air with a
temperature in the middle 80s.

 Relative humidity, expressed as a percent, is

a measure of the amount of water vapor that air is
holding compared the amount it can hold at a specific
temperature.
 Element # 5. Winds:
 Wind is air in motion and has both direction and speed.

 Unlike other elements in climate such as rain, snow or

sleet, winds are made up of a series of gusts and eddies that
can only be felt but not seen.

 The instrument widely used for measuring wind direction

is a wind vane or weather cock.

 As wind direction is always blocked by trees and tall

buildings, weather cocks and wind vanes need to be erected
in an exposed position, to get a true direction.
 Modern day anemometer used to capture wind
speed.

 An anemometer is one of the tools used to measure

wind speed. A device consisting of a vertical pillar and
three or four concave cups, the anemometer captures the
horizontal movement of air particles (wind speed).
 Element # 6. Sunshine:
 The amount of sunshine a place receives, depends on
the seasons, a factor determined by latitude and by
the position of the earth in its revolution around the
sun.
 Tourist resorts, particularly in the higher temperate
latitudes, are most concerned about the numbers of
hours of sunshine they receive.
 In the meteorological station, sunshine duration is
recorded by a sun-dial, 4 inches in diameter, through which
the sun’s rays are focused upon a sensitized card, graduated
in hours.

 A line is made on the card when it is sufficiently heated,

but not when the rays are faint.

 On maps places with equal sunshine duration are joined by

isohels.
 Element # 7. Clouds:
 When air rises, it is cooled by expansion. After dew-
point has been reached cooling leads to condensation of
water vapour in the atmosphere.

 Tiny droplets of water vapour which are too small to

fall as rain or snow (less than 0.001 cm., approximately
0.0005 inches in radius) will be suspended in the air and
float as clouds.
 Their form, shape, height and movements tell us a
great deal about the sky conditions and the weather we
are likely to experience.

 It is fascinating and very rewarding to know

something about the clouds which we see every day.
 For meteorological purposes, 100 the amount of
cloud-cover in the sky is expressed in eighths or oktas
(e.g. 2/8 of is quarter covered: 4/8 of is half covered; 6/8
of is three-quarters obscured and 8/8 of is completely
overcast.)
Thank you!!!