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On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the troposphere, [2] [3] just below the stratosphere. Weather refers to day-to-day temperature, precipitation, and other atmospheric conditions, whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. [4]
Some climate change effects: wildfire caused by heat and dryness, bleached coral caused by ocean acidification and heating, environmental migration caused by desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall ...
Regardless of the time of day (i.e. Earth's rotation on its axis), the North Pole will be dark, and the South Pole will be illuminated; see also arctic winter. Figure 3 shows the angle of sunlight striking Earth in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres when Earth's northern axis is tilted away from the Sun, when it is winter in the north and ...
Extreme weather events affect public health, and food and water security. [239] [240] [241] Temperature extremes lead to increased illness and death. [239] [240] Climate change increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. [240] [241] It can affect transmission of infectious diseases, such as dengue fever and malaria.
The Earth's weather is a consequence of its illumination by the Sun and the laws of thermodynamics. The atmospheric circulation can be viewed as a heat engine driven by the Sun's energy and whose energy sink , ultimately, is the blackness of space.
Extreme weather and its health impact can also threaten the livelihoods and economic stability of people. These factors together can lead to increasing poverty, human migration, violent conflict, and mental health issues. [7] [8] Climate change affects human health at all ages, from infancy through adolescence, adulthood and old age. [3]
Known affectionately to scientists as the "boring billion," there was a seemingly endless period in the world's history when the length of a day stayed put. The time when a day on Earth was just ...
On a warm summer's day, for example, air temperatures may vary by 16.5 °C (30 °F) from just above the ground to chest height. Incoming solar radiation exceeds outgoing heat energy for many hours after noon and equilibrium is usually reached from 3–5 p.m., but this may be affected by a variety of factors such as large bodies of water, soil ...