CLIMATES: climates and seasons

 Climates and Seasons:

    If you went from the North Pole to the Equator, you would find that there are different types of climates all around the Earth. At the North Pole, the Sun is always low in the sky (except in winter, where it never rises), and the weather is cold and clear. As you move south, the Sun is just above your head at noon, and the weather is hot and humid. Warm air stores up a lot of moisture from the oceans, which leads to frequent rains.
The weather also depends on the time of year. Towards the poles there are warm seasons and cold seasons, while near the equator it is hot all year round, but the seasons are wet or dry.

Climates :

    The different types of weather that a region encounters throughout a year constitute its climate. The poles have the coldest climates, the driest deserts, and the wettest equatorial regions. This is where tropical forests thrive in an always hot and humid atmosphere. Europe and North America enjoy a temperate climate, with hot and cold seasons. The climate of a region does not only depend on its location in relation to the equator, but also on its proximity to the sea. Central Asia has a very dry climate because it is far from the sea.

The weather and the sea :

     The oceans have a huge influence on the weather. Water behaves like a heat reserve:  it absorbs heat from the Sun near the equator and transports it to the poles thanks to ocean currents which are pushed by the winds.
Take for example the Gulf Stream, which carries warm waters from the Craïbes to Western Europe, makes the winters of Brittany, in France, very mild. The warm, humid air, associated with the Gulf Stream, increases rainfall, making the summers in this region often overcast. In each ocean, the currents form an immense circle, with cold water generally following the western coasts of the continents and warm water following the eastern coasts.

Facing the Sun :

    The axis of rotation of the Earth is inclined relative to the plane in which it moves.
This is why the poles are alternately directed towards the Sun, causing the seasons.
In June, the northern hemisphere receives the most sunlight : summer reigns over Europe, Asia and North America. December is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The equator always receives a lot of sunlight, the weather there is warm and sunny all year round.