(a) State any four factors that determine the temperature of a place (b) (i) List the two climatic elements used as the basis of Koppen's classification (ii...

Answer Details

(a) Four factors that determine the temperature of a place

• Latitude: places near the Equator receive the Sun's rays more directly and are hotter than places near the poles where the rays are slanting.
• Altitude: temperature falls with height (about \(6.5^\circ C\) per 1000 m), so highlands are cooler than lowlands on the same latitude.
• Distance from the sea (continentality): coastal places have milder, more even temperatures because the sea heats and cools slowly, while inland places have hotter days and colder nights.
• Ocean currents and prevailing winds: warm currents/winds raise temperature and cold currents/winds lower it (also acceptable: cloud cover, nature of the surface/vegetation, and aspect).

(b) Koppen's climatic classification

(i) The two climatic elements used as the basis:

• Temperature and Precipitation (rainfall).

(Koppen combined these with the natural vegetation of each region.)

(ii) The main climatic groups in Koppen's classification:

• A - Tropical (hot, wet) climates.
• B - Dry (arid and semi-arid/desert and steppe) climates.
• C - Warm temperate (mild, mid-latitude) climates.
• D - Cold temperate (cold, snowy, mid-latitude/continental) climates.
• E - Polar (cold, ice and tundra) climates.

(Some versions add H - Highland/mountain climates.)