Latitude measures the distance a location on Earth is from the equator. Latitude is represented as imaginary horizontal lines on a globe or map. Tropical latitudes are near the equator. Earth tilts on its axis at an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees and rotates on the equatorial plane. For this reason, the sunlight that strikes regions near the equator, such as tropical latitudes, is much stronger and more direct than the sunlight that strikes other regions on the planet Earth. Thus, tropical regions are warmer than other regions on Earth. As one moves away from the equator, the temperatures usually become colder.
Another reason that tropical latitudes are warmer than other regions of the planet Earth is that the atmosphere is thicker near the equator. Thus, regions near the equator experience a greater greenhouse effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment