5.1.3

Temperature

Test yourself

Temperature

There are many different ways to record temperatures. Average temperatures vary a lot across the world.

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Measuring temperature

  • The temperature is measured with a thermometer.
  • The measurement itself is degrees Centigrade (oC).
  • The climate of a place (determined by latitude) will affect temperature.
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Altitude

  • Altitude also affects temperature.
    • Temperature decreases with altitude.
  • The temperature on Mount Everest never goes above freezing.
    • It averages -19°C in summer.
    • It averages -36°C in winter.
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Types of temperature measurement

  • The current temperature.
  • The maximum temperature in, a day, week, month, year or ever.
  • The minimum temperature in, a day, week, month, year or ever.
  • The difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures in a day.
    • This is called the diurnal range.
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Why measure temperature?

  • Temperature measurements allow meteorologists to calculate average monthly and annual temperatures.
  • They can also calculate the temperature range.
  • Weather forecasts are used by people such as pilots, farmers, cavers and tourists to inform their decisions.
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Temperature records

  • The world’s highest ever recorded temperature was 56.7°C in 1913 at Furnace Creek, California.
  • The coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth is a village in Siberia where it was -67.7°C in February 1933.
  • Vostok in Antarctica has recorded -89.2°C but this is not permanently inhabited.
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Temperature records in Britain

  • Coningsby in Lincolnshire holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK at 40.3°C in 2022.
  • The coldest temperature in Britain was -27.2°C was Altnaharra, Scotland in December 1995.

Jump to other topics

1Geography Skills

2Geology of the UK

3Geography of the World

4Development

5Weather & Climate

6The World of Work

7Natural Resources

8Rivers

9Coasts

10Glaciers

11Tectonics

12Climate Change

13Global Population & Inequality

14Urbanisation

15Ecosystems

16Life in an Emerging Country

17Analysis of Africa

18Analysis of India

19Analysis of the Middle East

20Analysis of Bangladesh

21Analysis of Russia

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