There are three major climate regions on earth. Each is based on the average weather conditions of the area. (see fig. 3)
They are:
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Polar—60-90 degrees north or south of the equator. Polar zones are the coldest of the three zones. Polar zones not only do not receive as much radiation from the sun as other latitudes but they also include ice caps which reflect the sun’s rays slowing down the warming process.
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Temperate—30-60 degrees north or south of the equator. The temperate zone is affected by both tropical and polar air masses. If nearer the polar latitudes one generally gets snow during the winter season and rain if nearer the tropical latitudes. Generally weather conditions vary more between seasons in this latitude than with the other two.
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Tropical—0-30 degrees north or south of the equator. This zone has the highest temperatures and as it receives the most solar radiation throughout the year. An important event in this latitude is the monsoon. This brings much needed rain into the area during the summer season and when winter arrives the winds reverse their direction to become dry and cool.
Each region has it’s special type of global wind pattern caused by this unequal heating which is influenced by mountains, direction of the prevailing wind, nearness to large bodies of water and the Coriolis effect which is the tendency for things in the northern hemisphere to turn to the right and just the opposite in the southern hemisphere because of earth rotation. (see fig. 4)
