South America Climate

What most distinguishes South America from North America is the great diversity of environments depending on the climate. Virtually all terrestrial climates are represented in South America according to countryaah. This in relation to the great meridian development of the subcontinent, crossed by the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn., and in the presence of the Andes. These determine a real split in the climatic conditions on both sides of the chain itself, as is demonstrated by the tendency of isotherms and isoiets to arrange themselves in the direction of meridians rather than parallels. A fundamental characteristic of the South American climate, in which the seasons are reversed with respect to the northern hemisphere, is the scarce continentality. This is due both to the triangular shape of the subcontinent and to the sensitive Atlantic influences in a large area E of the Andes. In the equatorial belt in particular, the trade winds promoted by the anticyclonic areas located to the S and N of the Equator converge, bringing humid air and therefore rainfall throughout the year, except for slight attenuations in conjunction with the zenith movements of the sun. In this belt there are all the typical manifestations of the humid equatorial climate (we speak of the “Amazonian climate”). Temperatures tend to be constant, averaging around 26 ºC; absence of winds, high humidity, precipitation over 1500 mm are the other elements that characterize this climate. The greatest rainfall occurs in the innermost part of the Amazon basin and on the side of the Andes. On the opposite side of the chain, the tropical sea air masses of the Pacific intervene, but with a particular direction that affects only the northernmost coasts of Colombia. As we move away from the equatorial belt, the seasonal variations of the climatic manifestations become more sensitive and we pass thus to the tropical belts, which affect the absence of winds, high humidity, precipitation over 1500 mm are the other elements that characterize this climate. The greatest rainfall occurs in the innermost part of the Amazon basin and on the side of the Andes. On the opposite side of the chain, the tropical sea air masses of the Pacific intervene, but with a particular direction that affects only the northernmost coasts of Colombia. As we move away from the equatorial belt, the seasonal variations of the climatic manifestations become more sensitive and we pass thus to the tropical belts, which affect the absence of winds, high humidity, precipitation over 1500 mm are the other elements that characterize this climate. The greatest rainfall occurs in the innermost part of the Amazon basin and on the side of the Andes.

On the opposite side of the chain, the tropical sea air masses of the Pacific intervene, but with a particular direction that affects only the northernmost coasts of Colombia. As we move away from the equatorial belt, the seasonal variations of the climatic manifestations become more sensitive and we pass thus to the tropical belts, which affect the On the opposite side of the chain, the tropical sea air masses of the Pacific intervene, but with a particular direction that affects only the northernmost coasts of Colombia. As we move away from the equatorial belt, the seasonal variations of the climatic manifestations become more sensitive and we pass thus to the tropical belts, which affect the On the opposite side of the chain, the tropical sea air masses of the Pacific intervene, but with a particular direction that affects only the northernmost coasts of Colombia. As we move away from the equatorial belt, the seasonal variations of the climatic manifestations become more sensitive and we pass thus to the tropical belts, which affect the llanos of the Orinoco (an area with a long drought season), northeastern Brazil (which is partially excluded from the influences of the Atlantic air masses) and the whole great belt that extends from the Amazon basin to the Paraná basin. Precipitation gradually decreases up to 700 mm per year and the rainy season is reduced to a few months. It occurs in correspondence with the shift towards the S, in the austral summer months, of the anticyclone of the South Atlantic, which however directly affects the whole great Atlantic facade of the Brazilian highlands, which have a high rainfall (1500 mm) . Proceeding towards the S you pass to the first temperate zones, with rainfall that affects, especially in the austral summer, pampas), whose climatic peculiarities lead to speak of a “pampean climate”. Further to the S, you enter a belt that now escapes Atlantic influences and is therefore semi-arid or arid, especially under the Andean side. The whole Andean region is also mainly arid, especially between Lake Titicaca and northern Chile. The reason for this aridity is in the behavior of the air masses promoted by the Pacific: that is, they have a direction parallel to the coast of the continent; moreover they are deprived of moisture by the Humboldt Current which laps the Pacific coast up to the height of Punta Negra, in Peru, causing condensations and misty formations that are a characteristic feature of this peaceful area of ​​South America and that leave the air completely dry. In the area of Santiago de Chile, the summer dryness and mild subtropical temperatures give rise to a Mediterranean-type climate. Further to the South, the long South American appendix is ​​entirely exposed to oceanic influences, which determines a rainy climate, but generally cold due to the blowing of the winds promoted by the air masses of Antarctic origin. In the Andean region there is the characteristic climatic differentiation according to the altitude. In the low-lying areas, coastal or inland, there are the tierras calientes or warm lands, tierras templadas or temperate lands, and tierras frías or cold lands. Altitude limits vary according to latitude. In Peru, for example, the tierras templadas are between 1500 and 2500 m, while the tierras frías go up to 4000 m above sea level; above, the tierras heladas or frozen lands begin. In the central section of the Andes the limit of permanent snow is just under 5000 m above sea level, while in the southern apex of the subcontinent it drops to a few hundred meters above the sea, into which the tongues of the glaciers are pushed.