Compare Temperatures Across Latitudes to Better Understand Geographical Differences

Will cities around the world that have the same longitudinal position but different latitudes have similar temperatures? Theoretically locations around the globe at similar longitudes should have similar temperatures. But that is not the case when you compare temperatures at specific locations. Changes in elevation or geographic contexts and even differences in topographical features can affect average temperatures of locations. Daily high and low temperatures as well as annual maximum and minimum temperatures can widely differ.

Below is a tool built with the Wolfram Alpha Widgets that allows quick comparisons of temperatures of two location with history & forecast.

Get free access to this tool at: Wolfram Widgets: Earth Science: Temperature Comparisons

This interactive widget would be a useful tool to start a discussion with your students about how local geography and topography features impact temperatures. Allow your students to use Google mapping resources to identify locations around the world at similar longitudes and then use the temperature comparison widget to get daily, monthly, yearly, and multi-year data graphs. Students can toggle back and forth between the Wolfram widget and Google satellite maps to gather geographic data for more in-depth comparisons.

Use of this app for exploration may be a good way to stimulate student interest in further study of factors that affect seasonal patterns a GLOBE activity that guides students through more in-depth analyses.