Question
Factors affecting the atmospheric pressure Explain in details.
 
 

Answer

The factors affecting atmospheric pressure are as follows:
$1.$ Altitude:
 
Air is prevalent up to many kilometers in the atmosphere from the surface of the earth.
Due to gravitation force of the earth, every upper layers exerts pressure on the lower layer.
So, the air at the lower strata remains compressed and dense while it is thin in the upper layers.
Higher the place the air will be thinner.
The thin air is lighter and exerts less pressure.
The air pressure decreases @ $1\ cm$ or $13.32\ mb$ for every $165$ metres.
Everest in Himalayas is $8848$ metres high.
The air there is very thin so the pressure there decreases by about $54\ cm$ or $320\ mb.$
Air Pressure at different altitude according to Chrichfield:
Altitude $($Metres$)$ Air Pressure $($In Millibars$)$
Sea Level $1013$
$1000$ $899$
$3000$ $710$
$5000$ $540$
$10000$ $265$
$2.$ Temperature:
  • Air expands due to heat and occupies more space.
  • So the pressure decreases.
  • Air contracts due to cold and occupies less space.
  • Such air becomes heavy so the air pressure becomes high.
  • Due to the difference in temperature, the day time pressure is less while the pressure is more during night time.
  • The pressure is less over landmass during summer and is high during winter.
  • Similarly, the temperature in equatorial region is high so the pressure is low,while the polar regions feel more pressure due to very low temperature.
  • Thus, the atmospheric pressure depends on the temperature of respective places.
$3.$ Humidity:
  • Water vapour is lighter than the air.
  • So, if the humidity increases lower will be the air pressure.
  • When the humidity in the air decreases its pressure increases.
  • During rainy season, there is more humidity in the air so the pressure is low.
  • The air over the oceans contains more humidity.
  • As a result the air pressure remains low over oceans compared to landmass.
  • The air over equatorial region is more humid so the low air pressure develops over there.

Need a full question paper?

Generate a complete, print-ready paper with questions like this in minutes — across 16+ boards, with answer keys.

Start Generating Free