Why Is The Temperature Too High At The Equator?
Every time we glance at a globe or map, the prominent feature of the equator shows up and does not appear imaginary at all. In actuality, it is only an imaginary line, and without actually knowing we can cross it back and forth
“Equator”, the word is drawn from Latin word meaning “equalize”. It divides the earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is an imaginary line, going around the globe, mid-way of the North and South Poles. Sailors, remind themselves that they are “Crossing the line”, as they call it, and make a ceremony of it.
Imaginary lines that encircle the earth, parallel to the Equator are called ‘Parallels’. The lines above and below the Equator measure latitude for locating points on the earth’s surface. The Equator is also called the zero line.
The earth, we have divided into regions for understanding it more thoroughly on map. Starting from North on the top, we have the Arctic region, the North Temperate Region, Tropical Region, the South Temperature Region, the Antarctic Region.
The Tropical Region, or the Equatorial Region, extends be-yond the Equator to 23 1 /2 degrees north latitude and to 23 1 /2 degrees South latitude. In this region, the rays of the Sun come down vertically, and therefore it is very hot here always. The reason being that the earth’s axis is tilted to its path around the Sun. The Equator, therefore, is tilted to its path. The exact tilt is 23 1/2 degrees. Due to this tilt, as the earth goes around the Sun, the direct rays from it sometimes fall on the earth north of the Equator, sometimes on the Equator, and sometimes south of the Equator. The Sun can not however be more than 23 1/2 degrees from the Equator.
This is the reason, why the Equatorial Region is the only place on earth where the Sun’s rays come down vertically. The Equator is pretty hot always throughout the year.
