Temperature and precipitation are the two basic climate elements that
primarily determine the typical
flora and
fauna
of a
biome.
Temperature is related to altitude and the intensity of solar radiation which in turn
depends on the height of the Sun
(
solar altitude).
Solar altitude changes with latitude and with the
seasons which on
Earth can be experienced as a parallel translation of the
Sun´s path
across the sky.
Their apparent trajectories can be grouped into
climate zones
in order to describe certain climatic conditions within a certain latitudinal range.
The real
regional
climate is much more complex than this as the
dry
caatinga desert,
the semi - dry
cerrado savanna
or the humid
amazon rainforest
proove. All three biomes are located in the tropics.
On the other hand, the
climate of the Atlantic Rainforest
either north (
tropics) or
south (
subtropics)
of
São Paulo
is very similar because here the inluence of the warm humid air masses from the Atlantic Ocean
such as the elevation play a more important role than the solar altitude of a climate zone.
See also:
climate diagrams
