Formation of Boreal climates!
Cold climate:
The sun's heat is distributed unevenly across the earth's surface so the temperature of a place depends a great deal on its latitude. The latitude of a place is its angular distance from the equator. Places far away from the equator are in high latitudes and they also tend to be much colder than places near the equator which are in low latitudes! Areas within the Boreal climate type are in high latitudes and therefore they are quite cold! The reason why places far away from the equator are cooler is because of several reasons:
Near the equator the sun shines directly overhead. This means that the rays of the sun are concentrated on small areas, quickly heating them up!
Far away from the equator the sunrays are slanted. This causes their heat to be spread out over large areas, greatly reducing their heat and so resulting in lower temperatures.
Also, the atmosphere absorbs some heat from the sun's rays and far away from the equator the slanted sunrays have to travel through more atmosphere in order to reach places in high latitudes. So, as a result, they lose even more heat before they reach the earth!
The sun's heat is distributed unevenly across the earth's surface so the temperature of a place depends a great deal on its latitude. The latitude of a place is its angular distance from the equator. Places far away from the equator are in high latitudes and they also tend to be much colder than places near the equator which are in low latitudes! Areas within the Boreal climate type are in high latitudes and therefore they are quite cold! The reason why places far away from the equator are cooler is because of several reasons:
Near the equator the sun shines directly overhead. This means that the rays of the sun are concentrated on small areas, quickly heating them up!
Far away from the equator the sunrays are slanted. This causes their heat to be spread out over large areas, greatly reducing their heat and so resulting in lower temperatures.
Also, the atmosphere absorbs some heat from the sun's rays and far away from the equator the slanted sunrays have to travel through more atmosphere in order to reach places in high latitudes. So, as a result, they lose even more heat before they reach the earth!
Air movement!
Boreal climates have a lot of precipitation! This is due to the movement of air! At the equator, air rises because it is warmed. This forms an area of low pressure. As the air rises, it cools and condenses forming clouds which are full/saturated with moisture. This moisture is then released in the form of rain or precipitation. Therefore there is a lot of precipitation at the equator. Next the clouds move northwards (and southwards). They are then cooled further and descend to form areas of high pressure where there is little or no precipitation. They are now surface winds which blow outward from the high pressure zones. They are then heated again and rise. Evaporation and condensation occurs again. However this time the air is right above the areas with a Boreal climate type and the precipitation which comes from the saturated clouds fall on these areas! As a result places in the Boreal climate type receive a lot of precipitation! That is also the reason why there is a lot of vegetation in that part of the world! You can see the movement of air in the picture below.
Global Wind Patterns!
Ocean Currents!
Ocean currents that flow from higher latitudes to lower latitudes are called cold currents, indicating that they are cold. Therefore cold ocean currents surround the areas in the Boreal climate type. Cool currents have some climatic effects:
They lower the temperature of the waters in which they flow and as a result they also increase the possibility of ice in higher latitudes. Also, they cool onshore winds and therefore they also lower the temperature in nearby lands. That is also one of the reasons why Boreal climates are very cold!
They lower the temperature of the waters in which they flow and as a result they also increase the possibility of ice in higher latitudes. Also, they cool onshore winds and therefore they also lower the temperature in nearby lands. That is also one of the reasons why Boreal climates are very cold!
Effects of Cold Ocean Currents!
