Theory question 202
ClimateStudy the climatic data below and use it to answer the questions that follow.
Month: J, F, M, A, M, J, J, A, S, O, N, D
Temperature (°C): 21, 21, 20, 17, 15, 12, 12, 13, 14, 18, 18, 20
Rainfall (mm): 18, 17, 20, 39, 48, 90, 112, 90, 56, 47, 30, 25
(a) Calculate (i) the annual range of temperature; (ii) the mean annual temperature. (b) Use the climatic data to draw a combined rainfall and temperature graph for the station. (c) Identify the climatic type in (b) above.
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(a)(i) Range = 21°C − 12°C = 9°C.
(ii) Mean = (21+21+20+17+15+12+12+13+14+18+18+20) ÷ 12 = 201 ÷ 12 = 16.75°C (about 16.8°C).
(b) Title; months on the horizontal axis; rainfall as bars on the left axis (mm, scale e.g. 1 cm = 20 mm); temperature as a smooth line on the right axis (°C); points plotted at mid-month; key.
(c) Mediterranean (warm temperate western margin) climate of the Southern Hemisphere: warm dry summer (Dec-Feb), cool wet winter (Jun-Aug), e.g. Cape Town.
Note the coolest months are June-July, so the station is south of the Equator.