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Question

Explain the difference between diurnal range of temperature and annual range of temperature. Give examples.

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Solution

Just look at the definition of the terms "diurnal" and " annual." "Diurnal" means daily, while "annual" means yearly. Thus a diurnal temperature range is adaily temperature range, while an annual temperature range is a yearly temperature Range.


The diurnal temperature range (DTR) : it is the difference between the daily maximum and minimum temperature. Changes in DTR have multiple possible causes (cloud cover, urban heat, land use change, aerosols, water vapor and greenhouse gases). Different regions are affected by different factors. Some researchers say decrease of DTR is evidence of “climate change”.

In the Thar desert, the day temperature may rise to 50 degree and drop down to near 15°C the same night. On the other hand, there is hardly any difference in day and night temperatures in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands or in Kerala .


    The annual temperature range : it is defined as the difference between the hottest and coldest months, taking monthly mean temperatures in each case. It is given approximately by the difference between the average of the January maximum and minimum temperatures, and the corresponding average for July .We will call the January/July difference the apparent annual range.The error in assuming that the January and July temperatures are the hottest and coldest (or vice versa) is small at latitudes above about 40 degrees, but data from Africa, South America and Europe show that the true range exceeds the apparent range on average by about 1 Km at latitudes 0 - 10, 1.5 K over 11 - 20 and 0.5 Km over 21- 40 degrees.The annual range of temperature is greater in the Northern Hemisphere than that in the Southern Hemisphere


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