The document discusses several key factors that influence temperature: 1) Altitude - Temperature decreases about 0.6°C for every 100 meters gained in elevation, so a place 1000m above sea level would be cooler. This is why places in the Blue Mountains are cooler. 2) Distance from the sea - Places farther inland have greater temperature extremes than coastal areas, as the sea moderates temperatures. 3) Latitude - Temperatures are generally highest near the equator where the sun's rays are most direct, and decrease further from the equator.

1. FACTORS INFLUENCING
TEMPERATURE

3. ALTITUDE

6. • Going upwards it becomes cooler an average
rate of about 0.6°C for every 100 metre gained
in height.
– This is known as the lapse rate.
• If the temperature at sea level at the foot of a
mountain were 26°C, what would you expect
the temperature to be near the top of the
mountain at a height of 1000 metre?
• What is the main reason why places in the Blue
Mountains are cooler than places near to sea
level?

7. DISTANCE FROM THE SEA

9. • In places that are far away from the Equator and
therefore have well developed summer and
winter seasons, this is important.
– During the summer the sea warms up less quickly
than the land, and places near to the sea tend to be
cooled by it.
– However, during the winter, the sea cools down less
quickly than the land, and so places near to the sea
tend to be warmed by it.
– As a result, places which are far inland usually have
greater extremes temperature than do places which
are near the coast/sea.

10. LATITUDE

12. • Generally, the highest average annual
temperatures occur near the Equator and
going towards the poles it becomes cooler.
• At the Equator, the sun at midday is always
high in the sky. Therefore, its heating power is
concentrated on a relatively small area, and so
each part of that area gets a lot of heat.
• At the Equator, the sun’s rays have a shorter
distance of atmosphere to travel through
before reaching the earth’s surface. Therefore,
less heat is lost during the journey.

13. OCEAN CURRENT

15. • These are surface movements of sea
water.
• The currents which flow towards the
Equator bring relatively cool water, while
those which flow away from the Equator
bring relatively warm water.
• Example, the Gulf Stream Drift or North
Atlantic Drift.

16. CLOUD COVER

19. • The amount of cloud cover has an important
effect upon the daily range of temperature.
• Cloudless skies allow quick loss of heat during
the day. But, it also allows quick loss of heat at
night.
• Dense cloud protects the earth’s surface from
the full force of the sun’s rays during the day.
But, it also prevents the quick loss of heat at
night.

20. END