What Determines Climate?
Temperatures decrease as altitude increases in the troposphere.
The amount of solar energy depends on latitude. Polar regions are colder because they don’t receive as much solar energy as those closer to the equator.
Mountains act like wind barriers and this leads to an interesting precipitation pattern, in which the area on the downwind slope of the mountain receives less rainfall.
Because it takes more energy to heat water than land, areas closer to the coasts have temperatures to remain more constant. Warm and cold ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream, can also influence the climate of a region.
