Differential heating refers to the differences in the heating of the Earth's surface by Sun. Differential heating is the reason for changes in weather and the climate. Lets take an example. During the daytime, if you are walking on a beach, you will feel that the sand is hotter as compared to water, while in the evening and at night, sand will be colder as compared to the water. Any wind passing over the hotter region will get hot and will replace the colder air, this causes either a warm or a cold breeze for the beach goers. On a global scale, equatorial regions tend to get more sunlight and hence are warmer, as compared to polar regions, which tend to stay colder. Due to this differential heating, global wind patterns are generated, which affect the weather.
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