Near the equator
Seasons are weak there.
Southern India
The southern states of India lie close to the equator.
Do you think summer and winter are very different there?
What this lesson covers
The idea
On the equator there are always 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness, and the intensity of sunrays changes little through the year, so the effect of seasons near the equator is not prominent.
Southern India
The southern states of India lie close to the equator.
Do you think summer and winter are very different there?
- Yes, very different
- No, not very different
- There is no sunlight in winter
Compare two places
The same beam falls on the equator and on a place far from it. Pick each of the four dates.
Almost the same all year
On the equator the day is always 12 hours and the sunrays change little. Far from the equator they change a lot.
On the equator there are always 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness, and the intensity of sunrays changes little through the year, so the effect of seasons near the equator is not prominent.
Notes
On the equator there are always 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness, and the intensity of sunrays changes little through the year, so the effect of seasons near the equator is not prominent.
Check yourself
How many hours of sunlight are there on the equator every day?
Answer: 12 hours
12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness.
On the equator, the length of daytime …
Over the year, the sunrays on the equator …
Why are seasons not prominent near the equator?
- is very short in December. Daytime is 12 hours on the equator in December too.
- is 24 hours in June. Daytime is 12 hours on the equator in every month.
- stays 12 hours all year — correct. Yes! Day and night are equal there all year.
- change very little — correct. Yes! The patch of light stays about the same.
- are strong in summer and weak in winter. That happens far from the equator. On the equator the rays change little.
- never reach the ground. The sunrays do reach the ground on the equator, all year.
- The Earth has no tilt there. The tilt belongs to the whole Earth. Near the equator its effect is small.
- The day is 12 hours all year and the rays change little — correct. Yes! So the weather does not change much through the year.
- The equator is closest to the Sun. Seasons do not depend on distance. The reason is the steady day length and rays.