Climate differs from one location to another because of differences in • latitude, the angular distance north or south from the equator • altitude, the height above sea level • continentality, the distance from the sea • exposure to regional circulations, including winds and ocean currents. The latitude of a given site determines the length of the day and the angle of incoming sunlight and therefore the amount of solar radiation received at that site. Seasonal and diurnal (day—night) variations in the amount of solar radiation received cause seasonal and diurnal variations in the weather. Near the equator, the days of the year are all about the same length, and the noon sun is nearly overhead year-round. Because day length and solar angle change little with the season, there is little seasonal variability in the weather. In the polar regions, on the other hand, the sun does not rise at all in the winter, and in the summer it never sets, although it remains low in the sky. Thus, polar weather has a high seasonal variability, but a low diurnal variability. In the midlatitudes, the climate is characterized by both seasonal and diurnal changes. Except at the equator, day length varies throughout the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the longest day of the year is at the summer solstice (June 21), the shortest day of the year is at the winter solstice (December 21), and the day is 12 hours long on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes (March 20 and September 22). The altitude angle of the sun also varies throughout the year, with an increase of about 47° from winter to summer. The more direct summer sunlight produces more heating than the slanted rays of the winter sun. The latitude of a given site affects its climate not only because it determines the angle of solar radiation and the length of a day, but also because it determines the site’s exposure to latitudinal belts of surface high and low pressure that encircle the earth.