FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE ASIAN CLIMATE

LATITUDE is the angular distance north and south of the equator and is measured in degrees along a meridian as on map or globe. Latitude directly influences the amount of solar energy reaching any point on the earths surface over the course of the year. The earth is divided into four latitude zones: The tropical zone lies between 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south of the equator and receives abundant solar energy throughout the year. In this zone, the sun is directly overhead the moon. They have tropical climates dry and rainy. 2. The subtropical zone lies between 23.5 degrees to 35 degrees north and south of the equator. This zone has significant variations in the amount of energy received from the sun. The sun is high overhead and the solar energy is very high in June and in July in the northern hemisphere and is very high in December and in January in the southern hemisphere. The mid-latitude zone lies between 35 degrees and 55 degrees and experiences a sharp seasonality. During summer, the sun is high in the sky and the hours of daylight are long and the solar energy is abundant. During winter, the sun is low in the sky and days are short because the solar energy is in short supply. These are places between the Arctic and the Tropic of Cancer and between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. The countries in these regions have temperate climate and marked seasonal changes. 4. 4. The high-latitude zone lies above 55 degrees latitude; the summer sun never gets overhead. In winter, the sun barely rises above the horizon even at noon. The high latitude climates or the Frigid Zone are areas in the High Latitude have polar climates. Temperatures in these latitudes are always cold and never warm. The average temperature of the warmest month is below 10C. Frigid Zone - area beyond Arctic or Antarctic Circles: either of two areas of the Earth's surface, one lying between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole, the other lying between the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole.

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Oceanicity
The degree to which a point on the earth's surface is in all respects subject to the influence of the sea; it is the opposite of continentality; oceanicity usually refers to climate and its effects; one measure for this characteristic is the ratio of the frequencies of maritime to continental types of air mass. Also known as oceanity.

Monsoon
(Arabic mausim, season), wind that changes direction with the change of seasons. The monsoon prevails mainly in the Indian Ocean. It blows from the southwest, generally from April to October, and from the opposite direction, the northeast, from October to April. The southwest, or summer, monsoon is usually accompanied by heavy rain in areas of India and the East Indies, constituting the dominant climate event of the area. period of heavy rainfall, especially during the summer over South and Southeast Asia. It is known in the Philippines as habagat.

Elevation
height above location: the height above a specific reference point, especially sea level. Is another factor that affects climate. Temperature changes with elevation. The higher you go, the colder it gets.

Vegetation Cover of Asia

Vegetation refers to the ground cover provided by plants, which is sometimes called plant community. Different types of vegetation cover the vast lad area of Asia in accordance with the type of climate that these areas actually experience.

Tundra Vegetation
1. 2. Tundra is a Russian word that means a marshy plain. There are two types of tundra in the world: Arctic Tundra- is in the North Pole Alpine Tundra- is at the top of tall cold mountains like Mount Everest and other tall mountains of the Himalayas. The most typical characteristic of the tundra soil is permafrost (underlying soil or rock that remains permanently frozen, found mainly in the polar regions), where shallow rooted tundra plants and microorganisms grow.

Forest Vegetation
Taiga is a Siberian word which means forest. The taiga belt of Asia covers the whole northern hemisphere of the high latitude lands. It exists as a continuous belt of coniferous trees across North America and Eurasia.

Broadleaf or mixed forest

Characterized by a temperate humid plant community. The typical structures of these forests include four layers.

1. canopy or the uppermost layer is composed of tall mature trees. 2. understory composed of smaller mature trees. 3. shrub layer is composed of low growing woody plants 4. herbaceous layer otherwise known as the ground cover.

Grassland Vegetation
Grasslands are known as steppe in Asia. Are usually found at the highland areas of Asia particularly West Asia, the highlands of China, and North Asia, where most people remain as herders and grazers of animals.

Desert Lands
term applied to regions of the earth that are characterized by less than 254 mm (10 in) of annual rainfall, an evaporation rate that exceeds precipitation, and, in most cases, a high average temperature. Because of a lack of moisture in the soil and low humidity in the atmosphere, most of the sunlight penetrates to the ground. On the middle latitudes are found the cold desserts. The Gobi Desert of East Asia is the coldest desert in the world. It lies far north of the equator at the middle latitude of the northern hemisphere. The low latitude deserts of Asia are otherwise called hot deserts or tropical deserts. Most of these type of deserts are found in the south western part of Asia.

Man-made Disasters
Pollution Deforestation Global Warming Illegal Fishing Climate Changes