Equable climate
Also called: Maritime climate · Topic: Solar Radiation, Heat Balance and Temperature · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Climate"
Meaning
An equable climate has only a small difference between summer and winter. The difference between day and night is also small. It is found near the sea. Water heats and cools slowly. It also mixes heat downward and loses heat through evaporation. So the sea keeps nearby land from getting very hot or very cold. Places with this climate have moderate temperatures all year round.
Example
Thiruvananthapuram, on the Kerala coast in south-west India, has monthly mean temperatures that stay near 26-29°C all year. Mumbai, the Konkan coast and the Andaman Islands also have equable climates.
Don't confuse with
- Continentality: inland places such as Delhi or Leh are far from the sea. They have large daily and yearly temperature ranges, which is the opposite of an equable climate.
Related concepts
- Factors controlling temperature distribution
- Normal lapse rate
- Adiabatic lapse rate
- Continentality
- Microclimate
- Urban heat island