CLIMATE

Climate can be thought of as a measure of a region's average weather over a period of time. In defining a climate, the geography and size of the region must be taken into account. A micro-climate might involve a backyard in the city. A macroclimate might cover a group of states. When the entire earth is involved, it is a global climate. Several factors control large scale climates such as latitude (solar radiation intensity), distribution of land and water, pattern of prevailing winds, heat exchange by ocean currents, location of global high and low pressure regions, altitude and location of mountain barriers.