Precipitation is moisture that falls to the Earth's surface from the atmosphere. They accumulate in clouds, but not all of them allow moisture to fall on the surface of the planet. This requires that drops or crystals be able to overcome air resistance, gaining enough mass for this. This happens due to the connection of drops with each other.
Precipitation variety
Depending on how precipitation looks and from what state of water they are formed, they are usually divided into six types. Each of them has its own physical characteristics.
Main species:
- rain - drops of water from 0.5 mm in size;
- drizzle - water particles up to 0.5 mm;
- snow - hexagonal ice crystals;
- snow groats - rounded kernels with a diameter of 1 mm or more, which can be easily squeezed with your fingers;
- ice pellets - rounded nuclei covered with an ice crust that bounce when they fall to the surface;
- hail - large ice particles roundedmolds that can sometimes weigh over 300g.
Distribution on Earth
There are several types of precipitation depending on the annual course. They have their own characteristics.
- Equatorial. Uniform rainfall throughout the year. The absence of dry months, the least amount of precipitation occurs at the time of the equinox and solstice, which occur in the 04, 10, 06, 01 months of the year.
- Monsoon. Uneven precipitation - the maximum amount falls in the summer season, the minimum in the winter season.
- Mediterranean. The maximum precipitation is recorded in winter, the minimum occurs in summer. It is found in the subtropics, on the western coasts and in the middle of the continent. There is a gradual decrease in the number as it approaches the central part of the mainland.
- Continental. Precipitation is more in the warm season, and with the advent of cold weather it becomes less.
- Marine. Uniform distribution of moisture throughout the year. A slight maximum can be traced in the autumn-winter period.
What affects the distribution of precipitation on Earth
In order to understand where the maximum amount of precipitation occurs on Earth, it is necessary to understand what this indicator depends on.
Precipitation throughout the year is unevenly distributed over the Earth. Their number decreases geographically from the equator to the poles. We can say that their number is affected by geographic latitude.
Also, their distribution depends onair temperature, movement of air masses, relief, distance from the coast, sea currents.
For example, if warm, moist air masses meet mountains on their way, they cool down and give out precipitation as they rise along their slopes. Therefore, the maximum number of them falls on the mountain slopes, where the wettest parts of the Earth are located.
Where rainfall is highest
The territory of the equator is the leader in terms of precipitation per year. Average indicators are 1000-2000 mm of moisture during the year. There are areas on certain mountain slopes where this figure increases to 6000-7000. And on the Cameroon volcano (Mongo ma Ndemi), the maximum amount of precipitation falls within 10,000 mm or more.
This is explained by high air temperature, high humidity, the predominance of ascending air currents.
It has long been noticed that at the geographic latitude from the equator 20º to the south and 20º to the north, almost 50% of all the Earth's precipitation falls. Observations over many decades prove that the maximum amount of precipitation falls at the equator, especially in mountainous areas.
Distribution of the amount of precipitation to the total amount by continents
Having made sure that the maximum amount of precipitation falls at the equator, you can consider the percentage of precipitation by continent.
|
Precipitation in mm |
Europe, % |
Asia, % |
Africa, % |
Australia, % |
South America, % |
North America, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| less than 500 | 47 | 67 | 54 | 66 | 52 | 16 |
| 500-1000 | 49 | 18 | 18 | 22 | 30 | 8 |
| more than 1000 | 4 | 15 | 28 | 12 | 18 | 76 |
Maximum annual precipitation
The rainiest place on the planet is Mount Wamaleale (Hawaii). It rains here for 335 days a year. The opposite situation can be traced in the Atacama Desert (Chile), where it may not rain at all during the year.
As for the highest rate of precipitation per year on average, the highest rates are in the Hawaiian Islands and India. On Mount Wyville (Hawaii), the maximum amount of precipitation falls up to 11900 mm, and at Cherrapunji Station (India) - up to 11400 mm. These two regions are the richest in precipitation.
The driest regions are Africa and South America. For example, in the oasis of Khara (Egypt) falls inthe average for the year is less than 0.1 mm of moisture, and in the town of Arica (Chile) - 0.5 mm.
Maximum performance in the world
It is already clear that most of the moisture falls on the equator. As for the maximum indicators, they were recorded at different times and on different continents.
So the maximum amount of moisture fell within a minute in the city of Unionville (USA). It happened on 1956-04-07. Their number per minute was 31.2 mm.
To continue the topic, the maximum daily rainfall was recorded in the city of Cilaos (Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean). From 1952-15-04 to 1952-16-04 1870 mm of water fell.
The maximum for the month belongs to the already well-known city of Cherrapunji (India), where in July 1861 9299 mm of rain fell. In the same year, the maximum figure was recorded here, which amounted to 26461 mm per year.
All information provided is not final. Observations of weather conditions show many new records, including those regarding falling moisture. So, the record for the heaviest rain was broken 14 years later on the island of Guadeloupe. It differed from the previous indicator by several mm.
