Grade 8 Geography T2

CLIMATE REGIONS
GEOGRAPHY
TERM 2
FACTORS AFFECTING
TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL
DISTANCE FROM THE EQUATOR(LATITUDE)
HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LEVEL (ALTITUDE)
MOUNTAINS (RELIEF)
DISTANCE FROM THE SEA
OCEAN CURRENTS
DISTANCE FROM THE EQUATOR (LATITUDE)
• Climate regions closest to the equator have the highest

temperatures and closest to the poles have the lowest
temperatures.
• The regions with the highest rainfall are in the latitudes
where air rises and cools to form rain.
 Solar radiation will begin heating the land and
oceans when it hits the Earth's surface. Once
the land and oceans is heated, heat transfers
HEIGHT to the air directly above the soil surface. Air is
thus heated.
ABOVE SEA
LEVEL Heat is not transferred evenly. There are more
air molecules concentrated in the air near the
(ALTITUDE) Earth's surface. The gases in the air absorb
heat at this level and the transfer of heat is
easy. Air is thinner at higher altitudes. This
means there are fewer air molecules. Heat
transfer is less efficient, so temperatures are
cooler at higher altitudes.
 Generally, the higher you go, the cooler it
becomes.
• The influence of mountains can
cancel out the factor of latitude .
• For instance, high mountains in
MOUNTAINS Africa, South America and Asia that
are close to the equator, have tundra
(RELIEF) or polar climates.
• Mountains can force wet air to rise
and cool - that results in rain on the
one side of the mountain.
• Mountain ranges such as the Alps in
Europe prevent cold air to penetrate
further South.
Effect of MOUNTAINS (reliefs)
RISING AIR COOLS AND

CONDENSATES
DRY AIR
ARM MOIST AIR
RAIN
WINDS SHADOW
DISTANCE FROM THE SEA
 Generally, places far from the sea have hotter
summers and cooler winters than places close
to the sea. The sea helps to cool coastal places
in summer and warms them in winter.
 Near the sea
- Smaller temperature difference between winter
and summer.
 Smaller temperature difference between
Maximum and minimum
 Far from the sea
- Larger temperature difference between winter
and summer
 Larger temperature difference between
Maximum and minimum
Ocean Currents
HOT
AGHULAS
CURRENT
COLD
BENGUALA
CURRENT
HOT MOZAMBIQUE
CURRENT
 Ocean Currents can influence the
temperature of a particular place.
 Next to the east coast of South Africa

flow two warm currents; Mozambique
and Agulhas currents.
 The currents help the ocean to
keep warm, so that winds that
blow over this ocean to the land,
be warm and humid.
 Keep temperature high.
 Promote air circulation.
 Facilitate the arrival of rain
carrying clouds from the east.
 Cold ocean currents flow past the west
coasts of Africa, South and North
America, Southern Europe and
Australia.
 Next to the west coast of South Africa,
flows the cold Benguela current.
 The ocean current helps to keep
the ocean cool, and winds
blowing across the ocean to the
land, is cold and dry.
 Chill temperature remarkably
 Making a contribution to the
drought and stability of air masses
(less rain)
WEST COAST
SOUTH
AFRICA’S
CLIMATE
A PHYSICAL
MAP OF
SOUTH AFRICA
 A physical map focuses on physical features rather than
human-made features such as roads and settlements.
 South Africa’s physical features Include Plateaus,
Physical Mountains, Escarpments, River Valleys And Coastal Plains
An escarpment: A steep slope or long cliff formed by
Features Of

erosion or by vertical movement of the Earth's crust along a
fault.
South Africa  A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to
a seacoast
 A valley is a long low-lying area between highlands
 When a river flows through it, it is called a river valley
 A plateau is a highland consisting of a relatively a flat
terrain/top
 A mountain is a landform that rises high above the
surrounding terrain in a limited area
Questions:
What are the physical features of south Africa?
Describe each of them.
Mention the climate regions of south Africa and

mention one country found in each climate region.
Factors
affecting
temperature
and rainfall in
South Africa
CLIMATE AROUND THE
WORLD
Difference between weather and climate
Weather is the day Climate is the

to day(or even average weather
week to week) conditions of a
conditions in the place over a long
atmosphere. period of time.
Weather
 We talk about the weather in our day

to day conversations - for instance
we will mention to a friend that it is
really cold today. When we talk
about the weather we mention the
temperature, clouds, rainfall and the
wind.
 When you have a conversation with a
Facebook friend in America that has
never been to South Africa, you will tell
him our climate is sunny and warm. It does
not mean that it is never cold in South
Africa.
Climate
Elements of
the weather:
 Temperature
 Humidity
 Winds and
 Precipitation
 The temperature of a place is how hot or
cold the air of that place is.
 Remember that the controlling factors of
temperature of a place, is latitude.
 Places close to the equator have high
temperatures and places close to the
Temperature polar regions have low temperatures.
 Humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air.
 If the humidity is high, there is a lot of water vapour
in the air.
 Your skin may feel damp.
 Warm air holds more water vapour than cold air.
Humidity
 Wind is moving air.
 We describe wind by its direction and its speed.
 The name of the wind is always given from the
direction of which a wind blows.
 A southerly wind, for example, blows from south to
north.
Wind  The speed of a wind is linked to its force.
 Very strong winds are called gales.
Precipitation
 Any form of water that falls from the

atmosphere, is precipitation.
 Rain, snow and hail fall from the sky.
 Dew and frost condensate on the
ground.
 Rain and dew are moisture in a liquid
form
 Hail, snow and frost are precipitation
in a solid form.
 Tropical
 Subtropical
 Temperate
 Desert
 Semi-desert
KINDS OF
 Continental
CLIMATE  Polar
 Mediterranean
 TundraAnd
 High Mountain (Alpine)
TROPICAL CLIMATE
Information Areas
 25° north and 25° south of equator
 High temperatures
 High rainfall
 Vegetation: rainforest
 Wet tropical climate closer to the
equator e.g., Amazon, average
rainfall: 2000 mm/year
 Dry tropical climate with wet and
dry seasons e.g., Ghana, Nigeria.
SUBTROPICAL CLIMATE
Information Areas
 East coasts of continents
 Between 20° and 40° north and
south
 Two seasons: summer and winter
 Average summer temperature:
20°
 Average Winter temperature: 15°
 Annual Precipitation: 1000 mm
 E.g., KwaZulu-Natal
TEMPERATE CLIMATE
Information Areas
 Mild climates
 Not very high or very low temperature or
rainfall
 40° and 65° north and south of latitude
 Average yearly temperature 10°c
 Most rainfall in winter
 Yearly rainfall: 1400 mm
 Deciduous forest
 Canada, Europe, China, parts of Russia
DESERT CLIMATE
Information Areas
 An area that receive less than
250 mm of rain a year
 Sahara is a Hot Deserts
 Antarctica is a Cold Desert
 Very little vegetation
 Day time temperatures 50° c
 Freezing temperatures at night
SEMI- DESERT CLIMATE
Information Areas
250 mm to 500 mm of rain a year
Usually on borders of hot deserts
High temperatures
Unpredictable rainfall
Droughts are common
E.g., Kalahari
CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
Information Areas
 Between 30° and 60° north and south of
the equator
 No real areas of continental climate in
the southern hemisphere
 Rainfall: 500 mm – 1250 mm a year
 Short summers and long winters
 Summer temperatures 20°c for three to
four months
 Winters’ temperatures 0°c for six months
 Forest and tall grass
POLAR CLIMATE
Information Areas
 Close to north and south poles
 Short summers with long days
 Weak sunshine
 Monthly average temperatures below
freezing
 Long winter with few hours of daylight
 Extreme low temperatures throughout
the year
 Temperature: -40°C
 Little precipitation
TUNDRA AND HIGH MOUNTAIN
(ALPINE) CLIMATE
Information Areas
 Next to the polar climate regions
 Between 60° and 75° north and south of the
equator
 Average summer tempt. between 2°C and 12°C
 One month of temperature above freezing
 Higher temperatures in summer, snow melts and
allows tundra plants to grow
 No tress grow here
 Rain in summer
 Yearly precipitation between 100 mm and 400
mm
 High mountain (alpine) climate has low
temperatures
MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE
Information Areas
 Between 32° and 41° north and south of
the equator
 Around the Mediterranean sea
 Along coasts of oceans
 Warm summers above 20° C
 Cool winters between 10°C and 15°C
 Yearly rainfall between 400 mm and 600
mm
 Nearly 65% of rainfall in winter
THE END
THANK YOU

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CLIMATE REGIONS

HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LEVEL (ALTITUDE)

DISTANCE FROM THE SEA

• Climate regions closest to the equator have the highest

RISING AIR COOLS AND

ARM MOIST AIR

 Next to the east coast of South Africa

What are the physical features of south Africa?

Describe each of them.

Mention the climate regions of south Africa and

Weather is the day Climate is the

 We talk about the weather in our day

 Any form of water that falls from the

Usually on borders of hot deserts

Droughts are common

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