Incident Sunlight

Description

This effect impacts solar radiation's ability to heat our planet in two key ways. Regions of our planet at high latitudes (near the North and South Poles) receive far less concentrated solar energy than do regions at low latitudes (in the tropics near the equator). And... surprise, surprise... Earth is much warmer in the tropics than it is in the polar regions! The polar regions are, in fact, hit by a bit of a double whammy in terms of cooling... the low Sun angle means they receive less solar energy... and their high albedo due to extensive ice and snow cover means that they reflect away much of the solar energy that does reach them! The interactive below illustrates how solar energy intensity per unit area varies with latitude.