SQA National 5 Geography

Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere: temperature, precipitation, wind, cloud and pressure. Within the United Kingdom it varies from place to place because four factors act on it: latitude, relief, aspect and distance from the sea. ## Latitude Latitude is how far a place is north or south of the equator. The UK stretches from about 50°N in the south of England to about 60°N in Shetland, and the further north a place is, the cooler it is on average. The reason is the angle of the sun. In the south the sun is higher in the sky, so its rays hit the ground at a steeper angle and are concentrated on a smaller area. In the north the sun is lower, so the same amount of energy is spread over a larger area and each square metre receives less heat. Rays at a low angle also pass through a thicker layer of atmosphere, where more of the energy is absorbed or reflected before it reaches the ground. The difference is greatest in winter, when Shetland has only a few hours of daylight and southern England has noticeably more. ## Relief Relief is the height and shape of the land. It affects both temperature and rainfall. ### Relief and temperature Air cools as it rises, and the usual figure is a fall of about 1°C for every 100 metres of height gained. A summit at 900 metres should therefore be about 9°C cooler than a village at sea level nearby. Upland areas such as the Cairngorms are colder, windier and snowier than the lowlands around them for this reason, and snow lies on the…