Climate is an important aspect in our daily living.

The
way we dress, and the energy that we possess in carrying out
our tasks are in a way affected by the type of climate in that
particular place. Climate also affects the worlds biodiversity.
Plant species, animals, and even the population of insects are
clues to the types of climate of an area. As we all know each
flora and fauna has its own requirements in terms of water,
nutrients, and even its habitat.
For instance, Cambodia has a very rich biodiversity as a
result of its tropical climates. Places where there are least
precipitation sustain cacti and other drought defying plants as
only such plant could survive the driest places in the world.
Climate is affected by different factors namely latitude,

Latitude
Latitude is the geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position on the
surface of the earth. It is an angle which ranges from 0 at the Equator to 90 (North or South)
at the poles. Latitude is considered the single most important factor that determines climate.
Generally, the farther away from the equator the region can be found, the lesser the energy
that reaches the ground in any point in time.
As a proof, places at low latitude (close to the equator) receive greater sunlight than
places located at high altitudes (far from the equator as in the case of Somalia and North Pole),
respectively.
The average distance between the earth and the sun is 150 million kilometers. At its
nearest point on the ellipse that orbit around the sun, the earth is 91,445,000 miles (147,166,462)
from the sun. This point in the earths orbit is known as perihelion it occurs on January 3.
The earth is farthest away from the sun on July 4 when it is 94,555,000 miles (152,171,522)
from the sun. This point in the earths orbit is called aphelion.
When an are is closer to the focus, the days are longer (summer solstice) and the sun rays are
stronger. As a result, the climate heats up that allows the place to experience variation in
temperature. Those locations close to the equator however exist in a nearly constant state of summer
because they always get relatively strong sunlight and have long days.

As the earths axis is tilted 23.5 to the perpendicular,

the amount of heat for each latitude varies with the
seasons. From April to September, the northern
Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and receives more
energy while the Southern Hemisphere receives an
additional energy between October and March when it
tilted the sun.
There are 3 general climatic zones with respect to
latitude: arctic, tropic, and temperate.

Arctic
Regions found at 66.5 N to the North Pole comprise
the Arctic Region; from 66.5 S to South Pole is the
Antarctic. Places within the arctic climate zones are
covered with permafrost. Antarctica, all of Greenland, the
north of Alaska, Canada, and Russia are some of the
places under this zone. Winters are severe, the sea
freezes, and the place is exceptionally dry as continuous
periods of daylight but the monthly temperature
struggles to rise above freezing point. In these regions,
the Sun hovers above the horizon at midnight in the
summer and never rises at all, at times, during the
winter.

Tropic (hot) climates

Tropic or tropical climate refers to the zones
within latitudes between 5/10 to 35 . The equatorial
belt experiences a non-arid climate with an average
temperature above 18C. Weather condition is humid.
Due to high temperature, active vertical uplift and
precipitation accompanied with thunderstorm are normal
events in tropical climates. Sunshine and rainfall are
present that allows the zones to have luxuriant
vegetation. The nights of tropic weather condition are
usually covered with clouds and thereby with a fall in
temperature to about 22C. High precipitation is usually
subjected when sun reaches overhead during the midday
time. Rainforest, savanna, and semi-arid are some of the

Temperate
Temperate climate refers to zones in a rage of latitude in a range
of latitude between 40 and 60/70. The north temperate zone extends from the
Tropic of Cancer (at about 23.5 degrees north latitude) to the Arctic Circle (at
approximately 66.5 degrees north latitude). The south temperate zone on the other
hand extends from the Tropic of Capricorn (at approximately 23.5 degrees south
latitude) to the Antarctic Circle (at approximately 66.5 degrees south latitude.
Unlike arctic and tropical climates, this zone does not experience
extremes of temperature and precipitation. There are two types of temperate climate
namely, maritime and continental. Maritime climate is strongly affected by the
oceans and has fairly steady temperatures across the seasons. Continental climate
increases inland characterized by warmer summers and colder winter due to the
thermal inertia possessed by the land.

Flora/fauna-living things of a particular region, habitat, or

geological period.
Ellipse-a regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane
so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is
constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane that
does not intersect the base.
Permafrost-a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen
throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions.
Humidcontainingahighamountofwaterorwatervapor;noticeablymoi
st
Precipitation-water that falls to the ground as rain, snow, etc
semi-aridareas usually dominated by either grasses or shrubs