TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS

The amount of solar energy received by any region varies with time of day, with seasons, and with latitude. These differences in solar energy create
temperature variations. Temperatures also vary with differences in topographical surface and with altitude. These temperature variations create forces
that drive the atmosphere in its endless motions.
DIURNAL VARIATION
Diurnal variation is the change in temperature from day to night brought about by the daily rotation of the Earth. The Earth receives heat during the
day by solar radiation but continually loses heat by terrestrial radiation. Warming and cooling depend on an imbalance of solar and terrestrial
radiation. During the day, solar radiation exceeds terrestrial radiation and the surface becomes warmer. At night, solar radiation ceases, but terrestrial
radiation continue and cool the surface. Cooling continues after sunrise until solar radiation again exceeds terrestrial radiation. Minimum temperature
usually occurs after sunrise, sometimes as much as one hour after. The continued cooling after sunrise is one reason that fog sometimes forms shortly
after the sun is above the horizon. We will have more to say about diurnal variation and topographic surfaces.
SEASONAL VARIATION
In addition to its daily rotation, the Earth revolves in a complete orbit around the sun once each year. Since the axis of the Earth tilts to the plane of
orbit, the angle of incident solar radiation varies seasonally between hemispheres. The Northern Hemisphere is warmer in June, July, and August
because it receives more solar energy than does the Southern Hemisphere. During December, January, and February, the opposite is true; the
Southern Hemisphere receives more solar energy and is warmer.
Earth – Sun Relationship
Generally the manner of the division of the year into seasons varies with latitude. In middle latitudes, the year is divided into
‘autumn’, ‘winter’, ‘spring’ and ‘summer’. The terms ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ are not so significant in tropics, rather division into
seasons is usually made in terms of rainfall amount as ‘rainy season’ and ‘dry season’ or in terms of the associated wind direction
into ‘south-west monsoon’ and ‘north-east monsoon’ as in India.

-
In the continental subtropical regions the natural seasons are usually defines in terms of temperature (hot or cold) or rainfall (rainy
and dry), or both. In Polar Regions, the transition from summer to winter and vice versa is so sudden that spring and autumn
largely disappear. Solar radiation is one of many sources of energy, and probably one of the most important sources, that drive
environmental processes acting at the surface of the Earth. The amount and intensity of solar radiation reaching the Earth is
affected by the geometric relationship of the Earth with respect to the Sun. The variations in the amount and intensity of solar
radiation reaching the earth are affected by latitude, the rotation of the earth and its revolution around the sun. The study of the
geometric relationship of the earth with respect to the sun explains why we have seasons.

Earth Rotation and Revolution

The term earth rotation refers to the spinning of the earth on its axis passing through the north and south poles. Turning in an
eastward direction the earth rotates at a uniform rate once every 24 hours approximately, which is called a mean solar day.
The orbit of the earth around the sun is called earth revolution. The earth's orbit around the sun is not circular, but elliptical (Fig. 1)
with sun at its focus. An elliptical orbit causes the earth's distance from the sun to vary annually. The average distance of the earth
from the sun is about 150 million kilometers. On 3rd January the earth is closest to the sun at an approximate distance of 147.5
million km, and this position is called as perihelion. On 4 th July the earth is farthest from the sun at an approximate distance of
152.5 million km, and this position is called as aphelion. These annual variations in the earth-sun distance influence a slight
change in the receipt of solar radiation. The difference in distance is not the cause of different seasons. Instead, seasons are caused
by the tilt of earth's axis of rotation.

Fig. 1: Earth’s elliptical orbit

Tilt of the earth’s axis

The plane of the ecliptic is the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun. The Earth's axis is tilted by 23½º from the perpendicular
to the plane of the ecliptic. In other words it makes an angle of 23½º with the plane of elliptic as shown in Fig 2. The axis of
rotation remains pointing in the same direction as it revolves around the Sun. As a result, the earth's axis of rotation remains
parallel to its position at any other time as it orbits the sun, a property called parallelism of axes.
Fig. 2. Tilt of earth axis.

The constant tilt and parallelism causes changes in the angle that a solar rays makes with respect to a point on earth during the year, called the "sun
angle". The most intense incoming solar radiation occurs where the sun's rays strike the earth at the highest angle. As the sun angle decreases, the
beam of light is spread over a larger area and decreases in intensity due to the thickness of the atmosphere, increase in reflection and scattering of
light.

Solstices:
On June 21 or 22, the axis of rotation of the earth is inclined towards the sun (Fig. 3). The subsolar point, the place where the sun lies directly
overhead at noon, is located at 23½ º north latitude. This date is known as the summer solstice and marks the first day of the summer in the northern
hemisphere.
Fig. 3: Summer Solstice
This is the longest day of the year for places located north of Tropic of Cancer (23½º N latitude). As the noon’s rays are vertical
over 23½º N, the tangent rays in the northern hemisphere pass over the pole. This phenomenon keeps all places north of latitude of
66½º N in 24 hours of sunlight (polar day), while locations below latitude of 66½º S are in darkness (polar night).
The winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 when the earth has oriented itself so the North Pole is facing away from, and the
South Pole into the Sun (Fig. 4). The Sun lies directly overhead at noon at 23½º S latitude, called as Tropic of Capricorn. The
places pole ward of 66½º S latitude receives 24 hours of daylight and the places pole ward of 66½º N are in the darkness. The
winter solstice refers to the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere

Fig.4: Winter Solstice

Fig. 5: Autumnal and Spring Equinox

Equinoxes

Midway between the solstices are two dates when the sun shines directly on the equator. The axis of rotation is still inclined but it
is tilted sideways with respect to the sun rather than towards or away from the sun. At these times, the tangent rays strike the poles
so that the days and nights are equal over the entire earth (Fig. 5). The period between summer and winter is called as autumn. The
autumnal equinox on September 22 or 23 indicates the beginning of autumn season in the northern hemisphere. March 21 or 22
is the first day of the spring season and as such this date is called as the spring equinox. Equinoxes mark the seasons of autumn
and spring and are a transition between the two more extreme seasons, summer and winter.
The Seasons
During the summer months the earth is inclined toward the Sun yielding high sun angles whereas during the winter, the earth is
oriented away from the Sun creating low sun angles. The tilt of the earth and its impact on sun angle is the reason the northern and

-
southern hemispheres have opposite seasons. Summer occurs when a hemisphere is tipped toward the Sun and winter when it is
tipped away from the Sun.
Annual march of seasons

As seen in Fig. 6, over the course of a year, the sun's rays are perpendicular to the surface (directly overhead) at places between
Tropic of Cancer 23½º N and Tropic of Capricorn 23½º S latitudes only. Places between the two tropics experience two times
when the sun is directly overhead over the course of a year and the sun angle does not vary much over these places. Pole ward of
this region there is greater variation in the sun angle and consequently the greater variation in surface heating.

Fig. 6: Annual March of Seasons