Geographical Coordinates And Climate Of Italy: Wind Patterns And Local Winds

Geographical Coordinates of Italy

Geographical coordinates indicate the Italian republic is located at 43⁰ N Latitude and 12⁰ E longitude in Europe. Italy’s geographical alignment indicates it is located at latitude 42⁰  51^| N and longitude 12⁰ 50^| E.Italy is thus located in the Northern hemisphere.

Italy’s climate is affected by the subtropical high-pressure belt in the Northern hemisphere. The subtropical high-pressure belt occurs in areas of high pressure (Calamita et al.). It is also called the Horse latitude.Italy being in an area of high pressure the winds from the subtropical region blow towards the low-pressure region towards the equator.

Italy’s climate is affected by the westerlies system of winds. The winds blow from the west towards the east in e earth’s middle latitudes between 30⁰ and 60⁰ latitudes. The westerlies are also called anti-trade winds (Castino et al.). They originate from high pressure areas in horse latitudes and trend towards the poles. Italy being in an area of high pressure the winds will originate from there.

Italy is composed of many cities which experience different local winds. Some of the local winds are as follows:

The earth surface is heated faster than the water surface by the sun’s rays during the day due to their different heat absorption properties. Air near the earth’s surface becomes warmer and lighter and rises upwards. This creates a low pressure region on the land .The high pressure air region on the water surface rushes towards the low pressure lad region creating a sea breeze. This process is intensified as the air above the water surface is colder and heavier.

During the night the land cools rapidly than the water surface creating a low pressure region on the water surface as the warmer air near the water surface rises allowing for the cold land wind to rush occupying the void left by the risen air on the water surface.

These winds arise due to the interaction of a mass of moist air with Alps.

Moisture laden air meets with a mountain barier.The moisture within the air condenses as it follows the mountain’s sides. On reaching the mountain top, the air begins descending the mountain along its slopes undergoing acceleration as it lacks moisture and it is warmer.

These winds blow from the Northeast and are typical of the winter months on the regions of upper-middle Adriatic

Polar cold air produces a significant cooling of the mountain of Karst plateau air in the Eastern European regions. The air being cold and dense may shift towards maritime regions for purely Baric. The cold air mass accelerates along the alpine slopes due to its high density

The subtropical high-pressure belt creates a wind that flows towards the low pressure zone but the sinking wind is dry as it already released its moisture at the tropical rain forests. The westerlies provide a warming effect as they blow over the land carrying heat as they descend. They also bring about a drying effect as they also carry away the moisture.

a).Has high pressure. This is because air flowing in the region sinks creating a region of high pressure

b).Air sinks in the pressure belt. This is due to the fact that the air lacks moisture as the moisture is released near the equator above the rain forests.

c).Air in the pressure belt is warming. The air warms up as it descends creating a dry and warm condition

d).It is dry at the subtropical high-pressure belt. This is due to the fact that the high pressures experienced in the area create dry and warm conditions resulting in hot desert climates.

Air descends creating a high pressure region. The air blows over the region towards a low pressure zone. The air brings about a drying and warming effect as it lacks moisture leading to desertification.  

Calamita, Fernando, et al. “Coexistence of Fault-Propagation and Fault-Bend Folding in Curve-Shaped Foreland Fold-And-Thrust Belts: Examples from the Northern Apennines (Italy).” Terra Nova, vol. 24, no. 5, July 2012, pp. 396–406, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2012.01079.x.

Castino, F., et al. “Wind Climate Micro-Zoning: A Pilot Application to Liguria Region (North Western Italy).” Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 91, no. 11, Nov. 2003, pp. 1353–75, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2003.08.004.