If we’re talking about temperature, surely we will distinguish it into two kinds: hot and cold. We can also feel it when there’s a difference in air temperature between day and night. Of course we will feel the temperature during the day is very hot, while at night it will be cool or cold. But there are times when the air temperature at night will also feel hot and what we feel is hot and even sweaty.
The temperature of the air we feel at this time such as heat, not necessarily the temperature in other places will be the same even though it’s in the same time. Or the temperature during the day may not be too much different from the temperature at night. There are many factors affecting changes in air temperature in each place and the agent that plays a very important role in determining the temperature of the air is the sun. As we know, that sun is the center of our solar system. Sunlight entering the earth is not 100% directly exposed by earth, at least about 7% of sunlight is reflected back into space, and 15% is absorbed by dust and air particles that are in the Earth’s atmosphere. Sunlight is also reflected by clouds around 24% and partly absorbed by cloud particles by 3%. If the total sunlight in the earth’s atmosphere is around 49% while the remaining 51% reaches the earth’s surface. The light that reaches the surface of the earth is not used entirely, is still reflected back by 4%, so that the sunlight used by 47%.
However, 47% of the sun’s energy that reaches the earth’s surface has made us who are on earth feel hot during the day, especially those of us who live in equatorial or tropical regions. You can imagine if the sunlight reaching the earth is more than 47%, maybe we will be roasted and most likely there will be no life on this earth. Then, what affects the temperature of the air we feel? The following are the factors affecting air temperature and the explanation:
1. The duration or length of time the sun shines
The sun does have a very important role in influencing air temperature. The longer the sun shines an area, it is certain that the region has high temperatures. As an example that occurs in the tropics, namely Indonesia, which at least gets sunlight for approximately 12 hours, of course the temperature of the air feels hot. Unlike what happens in the northern hemisphere or the southern hemisphere, only certain times of the region get longer sunlight, usually occurs when summer arrives. And when winter comes, the length of sunlight in both places lasts very briefly, so the temperature of the air becomes cold.
2. The angle or direction of the sun’s coming
The smallest angle of the arrival of sunlight occurs in the morning and evening, when the sunlight emitted is not too large so that the air temperature is not too hot. The greater the angle of sunlight that is right at midday, the temperature will get hotter. The angle of the arrival of sunlight is the angle formed from sunlight on the plane of the earth’s surface. So that sunlight that forms perpendicular to the surface of the earth will produce a lot of sunlight.
3. There is a cloud in the sky
The role of clouds also influences air temperature. When clouds pass, it is likely that sunlight will be blocked by these clouds. As a result the air temperature in the area slowly becomes down. Another thing that can be felt by us when it rains all day, the sun’s rays will be blocked by cloudy clouds so that the temperature goes down and we usually will feel cold.
4. Altitude somewhere
The lower a place, the higher the temperature, and vice versa, the higher the place, the lower the temperature. The difference in air temperature is due to differences in the high and low of the area better known as the amplitude. When we go to the lowlands like the beach, we will feel that the air feels hot and becomes very cold when we are in the highlands like mountains and mountains, so we need to wear thick clothes to warm the body.
5. Latitude differences in an area
The existence of this latitude divides the earth into four regions namely tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and cold. Areas that are in the tropics or the equator will feel very hot temperatures, while in cold regions precisely in the polar regions, air temperatures will feel very cold. This is because sunlight tends to lead to the equatorial or tropical regions.
6. Movement of ocean currents and wind
Sea currents and wind also affect air temperature. As can happen when Australia experiences winter, wind and ocean currents that lead to Indonesia will cause some regions in Indonesia to feel cold due to declining air temperatures. Conversely, if the wind and ocean currents that come from hot temperatures, it could be that the area traversed will feel hot too and the air temperature will increase.
7. Geographical conditions of a region
For Indonesia, most of the islands are surrounded by water. The waters themselves take a long time to absorb heat from the sun, but for a long time to release heat from the sun’s rays. As a result, the difference in air temperature between night and day is not too large. Large air temperatures occur in areas far from water or sea, such as the Sahara Desert. The difference in temperature between day and night in the desert is very large, if during the day the air temperature can be very high and hot while at night the air temperature will drop very dramatically and can even reach minus 0 degrees celsius. To measure the temperature of the air needed a measuring instrument called a thermometer or thermograph.
So, those are the factors affecting air temperature and the explanation in some regions of the earth. Hopefully the information above can be useful for all of us.