Cath Senker - Tropical Climates

The Amazon rain forest in South America is the largest in the world. Its twice the size of India.

The Sun is always strong and sometimes shines directly on these regions. There are tall tropical trees, amazing plants that people live deep in the remote rain forest in addition to loggers, ranchers, and miners.

The Amazon rain forest spans nine countries in South America.

At the Equator, day and night are of almost equal length all the year round. The Sun rises at about 6 a.m. and sets at roughly 6 p.m. every day.

It never gets very cold in the tropical rain forests, even at night. The temperature is usually between 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) and 90F (32C), but it can get up to 100F (38C). Thats pretty hot and steamy! The winds bring moisture to the land. Close to the Equator, the tropical rain forest regions are the wettest on the planet. They have 400 inches (1,000 centimeters) of rainfall a year more than eight times as much as New York City. It rains all year round. Thats why the rain forests are so dense and lush. Thunderstorms might be an occasional, exciting event for many people, but in the rain forests they happen nearly every day.

This graph shows the temperature and rainfall in Belize, Central America.

Some areas of the tropics, such as southern Asia or West Africa, have a tropical climate. Heavy rains fall in these regions during the monsoon season, which lasts up to three months in the summer. There may be violent thunderstorms here too. People in the tropics regularly have to cope with heavy rain, strong winds, flooding, and mudslides.

This map shows where the three kinds of tropical climates occur: tropical rain forest, tropical monsoon, and tropical savannah.

AMAZING FACT:

Sub-Saharan Africa covers over 9 million square miles (almost 24 million square kilometers). More than half of this area is tropical savannah.

TROPICAL SAVANNAH

The tropical lies farther away from the Equator. The tropical savannah has three seasons: cool and dry; hot and dry; and hot and wet. Its usually warm, but the temperature varies during the year. The wet season here is shorter than in areas with a monsoon climate and theres less rain although there are still heavy downpours.

A CHILLY CLIMB

Tropical regions are not hot everywhere. , but as the land rises above about 3,000 feet (900 m), these are replaced by montane (mountain) forests. As in the cooler climates, these forests have deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in winter. On the mountain peaks, there is even snow.

A traveler walks up a steep trail in the mountain forest of Khun Jae National Park, Thailand.

DID YOU KNOW?

Winds influence the climate. Trade winds blow from the north or south toward the Equator. These warm breezes blow nearly all the time. In the Northern Hemisphere they blow from the northeast, and in the Southern Hemisphere, from the southeast. The trade winds meet in the tropics. As they rise, they cool, creating clouds and heavy rainfall. They bring thunderstorms and warm, damp weather.

The altitude affects rainfall too. As moist air rises over a mountain, it cools. Clouds form and it rains. By the time the air reaches the other side of the mountain, it has lost its moisture. Little rain falls this side is in what is called a rain shadow.