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"Each day is more or less the same, the morning is clear and bright with a sea breeze; as the Sun climbs high in the sky, heat mounts up, dark clouds form, then rain comes with thunder and lightning. But rain is soon over." Which of the following regions is described in the above passage?
Explanation
The passage describes a classic equatorial climate daily pattern. Due to great heat in the equatorial belt, mornings are bright and sunny, with much evaporation and convectional air currents set up, followed by heavy downpours of convectional rain in the afternoons from towering cumulonimbus clouds[1]. Heavy thunderstorms (cumulonimbus clouds) occur almost every afternoon[2] in equatorial regions. The key distinguishing feature is the daily repetitive pattern ("each day is more or less the same") with afternoon convectional rainfall and thunderstorms, which is characteristic of the equatorial belt's intense heating and high humidity. In contrast, Mediterranean climate is characterized by dry summers and mild, wet winters[3], while monsoon regions have seasonal rather than daily rainfall patterns. Savannah climates experience distinct wet and dry seasons, not daily afternoon thunderstorms.
Sources- [1] Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 15: The Hot, Wet Equatorial Climate > Glimate > p. 151
- [2] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 30: Climatic Regions > Precipitation > p. 425
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a classic 'Sitter' directly lifted from GC Leong (Chapter 15). It rewards reading standard textbooks over relying solely on summary notes. If you missed this, your static Geography foundation needs immediate repair; descriptive climate riddles are free marks.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Is the following daily weather pattern characteristic of the Savannah climate: clear bright mornings with a sea breeze, rising midday heat, afternoon dark clouds, thunder and lightning, and brief heavy rain?
- Statement 2: Is the following daily weather pattern characteristic of the Equatorial climate: clear bright mornings with a sea breeze, rising midday heat, afternoon dark clouds, thunder and lightning, and brief heavy rain?
- Statement 3: Is the following daily weather pattern characteristic of the Monsoon climate: clear bright mornings with a sea breeze, rising midday heat, afternoon dark clouds, thunder and lightning, and brief heavy rain?
- Statement 4: Is the following daily weather pattern characteristic of the Mediterranean climate: clear bright mornings with a sea breeze, rising midday heat, afternoon dark clouds, thunder and lightning, and brief heavy rain?
Describes equatorial/coastal tropical areas where mornings are bright, strong evaporation drives convection and heavy afternoon downpours often with thunder and lightning.
A student could use this rule to suspect that a daily convective-afternoon-rain cycle points toward an equatorial/tropical convection-dominated regime rather than a strictly seasonal savannah regime.
States equatorial climates have uniform high temperatures and that cloudiness and regular land/sea breezes moderate daily temperature—consistent with daily sea-breeze/afternoon convection cycles.
Combine with local map (coastal vs inland) to check if regular sea breezes and small diurnal ranges match the described daily cycle.
Explains the mechanism of sea breezes (daytime onshore winds caused by land heating) and notes they are stronger in the tropics.
A student could check whether the location is coastal/tropical to judge whether the 'sea breeze by morning' part of the pattern is plausible.
Gives a defining feature of the Tropical Savannah climate: a definite dry and wet season (seasonal rainfall pattern).
Use this seasonal rule to contrast with a daily convective-rain pattern—if rainfall is strongly seasonal, daily afternoon showers as the dominant pattern are less likely to be the savannah's main character.
Notes that equatorial regions experience many thunderstorms (example: Kampala ~242 thunderstorm days/yr), implying frequent daily convective storms in equatorial belts.
A student could compare thunderstorm frequency for the region in question: very frequent daily storms point toward equatorial climate rather than a savannah with largely seasonal rainfall.
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