(a) Outline any four factors that can influence climate of a place (b) In what three ways does climate affect man

Answer Details

(a) Four factors that can influence the climate of a place

1. Latitude (distance from the Equator): places near the Equator receive the sun's rays nearly vertically and are hot all year, while temperature falls towards the poles where the rays are slanting.
2. Altitude (height above sea level): temperature falls with height (about 6.5°C per 1000 m), so highland places are cooler than lowlands on the same latitude.
3. Distance from the sea (continentality): coastal places have a small temperature range and moist air, while inland places have hot summers, cold winters and a large range.
4. Ocean currents and prevailing winds: warm currents/onshore winds bring warmth and rain to a coast, while cold currents/offshore winds bring cool, dry conditions. (Also relief and vegetation cover.)

(b) Three ways climate affects man

1. Agriculture: climate decides which crops can be grown and the type of farming; rainfall and temperature determine planting and harvesting, so it governs food supply.
2. Type of settlement, dress and housing: people build and dress to suit the climate (light clothing and open houses in the hot tropics, heavy clothing and heated homes in cold lands), and dense settlement avoids very harsh climates (deserts, ice).
3. Health and occupation/economic activity: climate influences the spread of diseases (malaria in the hot wet tropics) and the kind of work and industries (tourism, fishing, timber) that people undertake. (It also affects transport.)