Sun Angle by Latitude – Climate Zones and the Greenhouse Effect

GeographyWeather & ClimateAges 11–12

A beam of sunlight of equal width strikes the Earth: at the equator the rays hit nearly straight down, so energy is concentrated, while toward the poles the angle shrinks and the same amount of heat spreads over a wider area, making it colder. Drag the marker along the edge of the globe (or the latitude slider) to see how the angle of incidence, the spread of the beam, the estimated average temperature and the climate zone (tropical, temperate, polar, bounded by 23°27′ and 66°33′) all change. Drag the CO₂ slider to see how greenhouse gases trap heat radiation and warm the Earth.