CHAPTER

4 Atmosphere

In the previous chapters, you read about Lithosphere and Hydrosphere. In

this chapter, we will read about Atmosphere.
We breathe the oxygen present in the air. Living beings can’t live without it.
When we breathe out, we give out carbon dioxide. Apart from giving oxygen to us,
atmosphere also makes life possible for us in many other ways. For example, it
prevents the harmful rays of the sun from reaching us. Green plants take in the
carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere, use sunlight and water to photosynthesis,
and we end up getting delicious fruits, vegetable, grains etc. from them. These
give us proteins, carbohydrates, sugars, fats, minerals, and other nutrients that we
need to live. It is the atmospheric winds that transports water from the oceans to
the continents in the form of rain. Without this, the different types of rocks would
not erode. This means that different kinds of soils would not be available. So, we
would not be able to grow different kinds of crops.
We wouldn’t be able to enjoy the cooling monsoon rains, the scents of
fragrant flowers, and the sounds of music in the absence of atmosphere. We
would not be able to fly the beautiful kites as there would be no wind. Birds
would n’t fly or soar in the sky. Flags would not flutter.
So, what is this wonderful and awesome thing called atmosphere?

Fig. 4.1: A picture of Earth taken from about 322 km above the Earth. The
atmosphere is that thin blue band between Earth and the black colour of space

36 Social Studies Atmosphere

 Atmosphere is a sea of gases surrounding the Earth. In a sense, we are all
swimming in a sea of gases (just as fishes swim in a sea of water). When we
compare it with the size of the Earth, atmosphere is a very thin blanket surrounding
Earth. The atmosphere is about 1,000 kms thick. [National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), the space agency of the USA] gives this description: if
Earth were the size of a basketball, the atmosphere would be like a thin sheet of
plastic wrapped around it.
What will happen if water vapour is not Being composed of gases, the
present in air? atmosphere exhibits all the properties of
gases – it compresses and expands and it
Our skin dries up more during winters.
has no shape. (Gas can be stuffed more and
Why?
more into a small space like you do it in
your cycle tube – this is compression of gas.) There are many gases in the
atmosphere, but oxygen (about 21% in volume) and nitrogen (about 78% in volume)
dominate. Other gases are present in very small percentages; these include argon,
neon, carbon dioxide (about 0.03% by volume), methane, ammonia, ozone etc.
Water vapour accounts for about 0.4% of volume in the atmosphere, but most
of it is close to the surface (within about 6 km above Earth). Yes, water vapour is a
gas! No, the clouds that you see in the sky are not water vapour, they are water
droplets.
Apart from these gases, the atmosphere also has fine dust particles; these are
called particulates. Particulates may come from natural processes (for example:
sand storms over deserts and natural forest fires) and from human activity (for
example: burning forests, burning petroleum and industrial emissions).
These particulates can change the atmospheric conditions that may be beneficial
for life on Earth. Have you ever seen a beautiful, bright orange sunrise or sunset?
Particulates in the atmosphere cause that bright colour! And that rainfall you love
to play in? The hail stones you love to
List out some of the ways in which
collect and eat? The particulates make these
particulates in the atmosphere are
also possible. The particulates can also
beneficial and harmful to us. cause problems by altering the temperature
Why is atmosphere important for us? and rainfall patterns. For example: they can
Can you imagine why life is not make it difficult for people to breathe, they
possible on the Moon? can settle on leaves and make it difficult
for plants to breathe and photosynthesise.

Structure of the Atmosphere

Just like the interior of the earth is arranged as layers, atmosphere too is
arranged into various layers, having different compositions. Can you imagine the
layers? It is not an easy job to study the structure of the atmosphere which is very

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widely spread. Scientists research about it through air balloons, satellites etc. On
the basis of chemical composition, the atmosphere is divided into two broad layers:
1) Homosphere
2) Heterosphere
Homosphere: Homosphere extends up to a height of 90 kms. It consists of
three layers: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere. It is characterised by
uniformity in composition of gases like nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbondioxide.
Heterosphere: The layer above 90 kms of the homosphere is called
heterosphere. It has a heterogenous composition and hence, the name heterosphere.
It has two layers called Thermosphere and Exosphere.
Atmosphere can also be divided into various layers based on density and
temperature.

Fig. 4.2: Structure of the atmosphere

1. Troposphere: Troposphere is the lower most layer of the atmosphere. Its

average height is 13 kms and extends roughly to a height of 8 kms near the poles
and about 18 kms at the equator. Thickness of the troposphere is greatest at the
equator because heat is transported to greater heights by strong convectional
currents, greater sinking of air near the poles.
38 Social Studies Atmosphere
 It contains about 75% of the total gaseous mass of the atmosphere and
practically all the moisture and dust particles. The entire weather phenomenon
happens in this sphere. The temperature in this layer decreases as we go higher
which is known as Normal Lapse Rate. Condensation, evaporation, precipitation,
rainfall, cyclones etc. occur in this layer.
2. Stratosphere: This layer extends up to a height of 50 kms. This layer is
almost free from clouds and associated weather phenomenon, making conditions
most ideal for flying jet aircrafts. One important feature of stratosphere is that it
contains ozone layer. The temperature increases as there is increase in altitude.
3. Mesosphere: It extends up to a height of 80 kms. Meteorites burn up as they
enter this layer from the space. Temperature starts decreasing with the increase in
altitude.
4. Thermosphere: It extends up to 400 kms. In thermosphere, temperature
rises rapidly with increase in height. It contains electrically charged particles known
as ions. Radio waves transmitted from the earth are reflected back to the earth by
these ions. It is also known as
In which layer is life present in the
Ionosphere.
atmosphere?
5. Exosphere: It is the upper
About which layer do we have very little
most layer of the atmosphere. This
knowledge?
is the highest layer and very little is
Which layer of the atmosphere is ideal for known about it.
flying jet aircrafts? Why?
Pressure Belts and Planetary Winds
Air Pressure: The air around us is composed of gas molecules (very tiny
particles). These molecules are constantly pushing each other or any object that
comes their way. This push effect they exert together on any object is described as
Air Pressure. Thus, air exerts pressure not only from the top but also from the
bottom and all the sides of an object that it is exposed to air on those sides.
The pressure of air increases if there are more molecules present – This usually
happens on the surface of the earth – as the earth pulls most of the air molecules to
its surface due to its gravitational pull.
However, this changes when the air is heated up. When gas molecules are heated
up (usually due to the heating of the Earth’s surface), they get a lot of energy and
start moving very fast. This initially would mean an increase in pressure as they
will push the object more. However, the energised molecules start flying off higher
and higher. Remember they have more energy now to defy the pull of the earth!
When more molecules go to higher reaches of the atmosphere, the places near the
earth will have less of them – this means less pushing around or less pressure.

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 That is why geographers say that when it gets hot, the air pressure becomes low
and when it becomes cool, air pressure increases. In simpler terms: if one increases,
the other decreases – this is called an inverse relationship.
When heated air rises, it starts losing the energy (in the form of heat) that it got
from Earth’s surface. When the energy decreases, the molecules slow down,
become more sluggish, and get closer to each other – air becomes cooler and
denser. Dense air starts falling back towards Earth’s surface due to gravity. They
don’t have enough energy to fight against gravity any more! Wherever this cool air
descends, the air pressure increases.
That is not all. When any part of the earth heats up and causes low pressure, it
means that there is more vacant space and less molecules. Now, air from other
parts where the pressure is higher moves towards this vacant place. It is not difficult
for them for they have to only move along the earth’s surface and thus need not go
too much against gravity. That is why we say that wind flows from high pressure
areas to low pressure areas.
Pressure Belts
The Earth’s surface does not heat uniformly. Land heats up faster than sea. The
land which is deep inland heats up faster than the land near the sea. So the air above
the land gets heated more quickly. Water takes more time to heat. So the air above
water gets heated more slowly.
However, when it comes to cooling, land cools faster and water cools down
slower in comparison to land. So, the heating and cooling is happening at different
rates in different places. Therefore, the pressures are also varying from place to
place.
There’s even more! You have learned about the relationship between latitudes
and seasons. You learned that the tropical latitudes receive the most intense amount
of solar radiation and are hotter than temperate or polar latitudes that receive less
intense solar radiation. Hence, the tropics are hotter than the rest of the world. So,
with temperature variation there is pressure variation around the world.
Just as water moves from a higher place to a lower place and heat moves from
warmer objects to cooler objects, air moves from areas of higher pressure to areas
of lower pressure. When air moves like that, we call it wind.
If it moves at a slow pace and we feel comfortable in it, we call it a breeze. If
the wind comes in a short and fast burst, we call it gust. If it moves very fast and
blows things around, we call it a storm. Along the Andhra Pradesh coast, we
experience cyclones which are very high-speed winds.
Winds are constantly moving all over the world. At the equator, the high
temperature heats up the atmosphere and the hot air rises, creating lower pressure
at the Earth’s surface around the equator. This low-pressure belt (it is like a belt

40 Social Studies Atmosphere

around the Earth!) is called equatorial low pressure belt or the Inter-Tropical
Convergence Zone (shortened to ‘ITCZ’). As this air rises, it cools and starts
descending. But it cannot come back from the same path that it took when it went
up. As it reaches the higher layers of the atmosphere, the air spreads away from the
equatorial region towards northern and southern hemisphere. As it spreads, it also
starts descending – it is cooler, denser, and so starts to sink back to Earth. Where
it descends, we find the pressure is higher and this phenomenon is called sub tropical
high pressure belt.
Having come down, as the air hits the Earth’s surface, it splits into two parts -
one part again rushes towards the equatorial lower pressure area. When they get
there, they get heated again and rise. Thus, the equatorial cycling of wind continues.
The other part is pushed towards the next higher latitudes where the pressure is
lower. To understand the process better let us call these winds “A.” (Remember,
“A” is not an official name for these winds, we are using it for convenience.)

Fig. 4.3:Pressure Belts and Planetary winds

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 The air in the areas near the north pole and south pole is so cold that the air
there is at higher pressure (polar high pressure belt) than in the area around the
latitudes, along the Arctic Circle (in the north) and the Antarctic Circle (in the
south) (sub polar low pressure belt). So, the polar winds rush towards these lower
pressure areas. There, they meet the “A” winds.

Fig. 4.4: Diagram showing Coriolis effect

Normally we would have expected the winds to move in a straight line from
north to south, or south to north from the temperate zone to the tropic zone.
(remember that temperate zones are there both to the south and north of the Equator.)
But actually the winds move slightly to the right in the northern hemisphere and to
the left in the southern hemisphere. This is because of the impact of Earth’s rotation
on its own axis. This effect is called ‘Coriolis effect’, having ‘0’ effect near the
equator and maximum effect near the poles.
Thus, the atmosphere is always surrounding the earth on all sides in circulation.
The winds play a very important role in the weather and climate patterns around the
world. They have also played a very important role in history. For example, Vasco
da Gama found the sea route to India using winds to power his ships. He was able to
transport and trade large quantities of pepper, cinnamon etc. to Portugal because
of this. In this way, these winds also were crucial to the establishment of the
Portuguese rule over Goa.
Remember, there are also many small local variations in the wind patterns.

42 Social Studies Atmosphere

Classification of Winds
Depending upon the speed of the winds, their features, their directions and the
way they occur, winds are classified into three types :
A. Planetary winds - Present on the planet as a whole through out the year.
B. Seasonal winds - Restricted to regions or seasonal in character.
C. Local winds - Local in character.
A. Planetary Winds: The winds that blow continuously and regularly above
the world pressure belts are known as planetary winds. These are of 3 types -Trade
winds, Westerlies and Polar winds; Trade winds in the tropics, westerlies in the
temperate belt, polar winds in the polar belt. Trade winds are Easterly in direction
i.e moving from East to West. They are North East trades in Northern hemisphere
and South East trades in Southern hemisphere. Westerlies, on the other hand, blow
from West to East, that’s why they are
Observe the figure 4.3 and describe called westerlies. They are South West
between which pressure belts are the bound in Northern hemisphere and
Westerlies, trade winds and polar North West bound in Southern
Easterlies are blowing. hemisphere. Polar regions also
experience Easterlies.
Effects of Planetary Winds: You would have noted that the pressure and wind
systems are actually a result of the impact of Lithosphere and Hydrosphere on
Atmosphere. These winds play a crucial role in transporting heat and moisture across
the world. That is why no part of the world gets too cold or too hot for life to
survive. Had there been no atmosphere (as on the Moon) it would have got intolerably
hot during day or in the tropics and intolerably cold at night or in the Polar regions.
However, these winds do not distribute heat or moisture uniformly – which is why
some parts of the earth are quite hot, some parts cooler and some parts with high
rainfall and some which are deserts.
B. Seasonal Winds: The rainfall that happens in India is mainly due to seasonal
winds. All factors in the country are related to monsoons. Monsoon is derived
from Arabic word Mausam.
Existence of monsoon is due to differential cooling of land and sea. A low
pressure area develops over north-western India, while south-east trades cross the
equator. As a result of coriolis effect, it becomes south west monsoon over
peninsular India and adjacent countries. In winter, reversal of pressure belts i.e
north-east trade winds cross the equator. As a result of coriolis effect, it becomes
north-west monsoon over the north, north-east Australia.
C. Local Winds: The local winds blow due to local variation in the temperature
and pressure, and influence a very small area. Hot local winds raise the temperature
of the area. Cold local winds sometimes bring the temperature of the affected area
below the freezing points. These local winds blow in the lower layer of the

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troposphere. The mountain and the valley breezes, as well as sea and land breezes
are also one class of local winds. These winds respond to local pressure gradients
(pressure changes) set up by heating or cooling of the lower atmosphere.

Hot Local Winds

1. Chinook : These winds move down the Rocky mountains in the USA-Canada and part
of North America. Many people believe that the word Chinook means “snow eater”.

Fig. 4.5: Chinook

Actually, it is the name of a native American tribe called the Chinook, people who lived
in the region where these winds are observed. It keeps the grass lands clear of snow
during must of the winter. Similar winds that below in Europe are called Foehn. They
blow along the northern slope of the Alps. This melts the snow, makes the weather
pleasant and helps in early ripening of the grapes.
2. Loo: These are hot and dry winds blowing in the plains of northern India from the
west to east in the months of May and June. It may cause sunstroke to people because
of high temperatures.
Simmon in Arabian desert, Yoma in Japan, Norwester in New Zealand are some of
the other examples of hot winds.
Cold Local Winds
1. Mistral: The most famous is the mistral that blows from the Alps over France to-
wards the Mediterranean Sea. It is channeled through the Rhome Valley. It is a very
cold and dry wind.
2. Puna: This is the cold local wind in the Andes region.
3. Pampero: These are the cold polar winds blowing very fast in the Pampas region of
South America.
44 Social Studies Atmosphere
Weather and Climate
Perhaps you have heard of a cricket match being postponed due to ‘bad’ weather
(rain). You may have had to postpone your own games due to rain or excessive heat
saying, “The weather is not suitable.” You may have also heard people say, “This
year, the monsoons are on time.” The prices of most fruits go up when they are
‘not in season’ but come down when they are ‘in season.’ You may also have heard
things like, “The climate in north India is not suitable for me!”
These two words, weather and climate are very important concepts in geography.
They shape our lives in many ways. And many people confuse the terms and say
‘weather’ when they mean ‘climate’ and vice versa. You will know the difference
between the two by the end of this section.
This mixture of gases and particulates that we call the ‘atmosphere’ is not static.
It is very dynamic; it moves up and down and horizontally in all directions. As it
does so, its characteristics change – it may get warmer or cooler, wet or drier etc.
When we describe the condition of the atmosphere for small period of time (usually
about 10 days at most), we are talking about weather. Weather can change daily
even within a day!
Climate is description of the average atmospheric conditions for specific areas
over a long period of time. Climatic descriptions are based on decades of
atmospheric data and finding the averages of these data. Climate descriptions tell
us what conditions are going to prevail at a given time of the year, but not on specific
days.
How do we describe the atmosphere? We measure (a) temperature, (b) pressure,
(c) wind, (d) humidity, and (e) precipitation. These are called the elements of
weather. We use these to describe climate also, as you will see soon; so these are
also elements of climate. You have just learned about pressure and winds above.
Let us take a look at the other elements now.
Temperature: In class VIII, you learnt about the temperature of the atmosphere.
We had compared the temperature patterns for Panaji, Shimla, and Delhi. You had
also learned that Shimla, being at a higher altitude than Panaji and Delhi, had cooler
temperature. On Earth’s surface, as you go higher in altitude, the temperatures
decreases.
Humidity and Precipitation
In this section, we will understand how water cycle works in the atmosphere.
You can see how hydrosphere and atmosphere interact with each other. Water vapour
is a very important component in the atmosphere. In most places, the amount of
water vapour in the atmosphere varies over time and as part of changing weather
patterns. In many places, in winter, it is dry and cold. In such places, our skin may

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feel itchy, dry, and it may crack. You will probably have experienced cracked lips
for which you may have used lip balm, vaseline, or oil.
Combined with high temperature, it is the water vapour that makes you feel
sultry and sweaty. When this happens, we say it is ‘very humid’ or ‘the humidity is
high.’ But not all places are similar in this respect. Some places feel very dry
(example: deserts). The moisture (water vapour) in the atmosphere is derived from
water bodies through evaporation and from
Do You Know?
plants through transpiration. Humidity is the
amount of water vapour in the air. In high Hygrometer is an Instrument that
humidity, our sweat doesn’t cool us because it measures the water vapour content
cannot evaporate. In low humidity, we also feel (Humidity) of the air.
more thirsty.
Remember those particulates you learned about earlier? Recall how they help
in rainfall.
We express humidity not directly, but using the concept of relative humidity.
Relative humidity is the ratio between two things:
1. The maximum water vapour that the air can hold at a given temperature and
pressure, and
2. The actual amount of water vapour it holds at any given time.
For example, at 20oC temperature air can contain 80 gms of water vapour per
cubic meter. If the actual water vapour present is only 40 gms, the relative humidity
is 50%. Relative humidity increases with the decrease of temperature or addition
of water vapour. Relative humidity decreases with the increase of temperatures and
decrease of water vapour. The critical temperature at which saturation level is reached
is called dew point. Have you seen dew drops? Where are they found? If the
atmosphere has 100% relative humidity, it is known as saturation level.

Condensation
Condensation is the opposite of evaporation, as it involves conversion of water
vapour into droplets of water or crystals of ice. When the relative humidity exceeds
100%, the excess of water vapour present in the atmosphere gets condensed as
minute droplets of water. For example, when air at a temperature of 20oC contains
49 gms of water vapour per cubic meter and gets cooled to 10oC it can hold only
40 gms of water vapour at saturation level. The excess of 9 gms of water vapour
gets condensed. Condensation can take place only when minute solid particles are
present in the atmosphere. Condensation can also take place on a contact surface.
For example, have you observed what happens when cold water is filled in a glass?
Condensation happens on the outer side of the glass as the moisture in the air
46 Social Studies Atmosphere
comes in contact with a cold surface. When water vapour condenses on surfaces
such as plants, dew drop form.
Dust particles also attract water molecules from the water vapour in the
atmosphere. This causes condensation (condensation means becoming denser) of
the vapour into droplets. Millions and millions of these droplets appear together
as different kinds of clouds. If the clouds are cold enough, they may also contain
ice crystals. Clouds are classified into different types on the basis of their forms
and heights at which they are found. For example, Cirrus clouds (at higher level),
cumulus clouds (at middle level), stratus (at lower level), nimbus (rain bearing,
and vertical clouds).
With condensation, the droplets get heavy and fall on Earth as precipitation
(from the Latin word praecipitatio meaning to fall headlong, to plummet) – in the
form of rain, snow, hail, etc. If these droplets condense very close to Earth’s surface,
the droplets are lighter and we get fog.

Forms of Precipitation
Rainfall is the most common form of precipitation. When condensation takes
place at temperatures below freezing point, water vapour condenses directly into
ice crystals. These may fall on the earth as a powdery mass or flakes of snow. This
form of precipitation is called snowfall. Snowfall is quite common in middle and
high latitudes, and mountain regions.
When rain falls through a cold layer of air near the earth’s surface, rain drops
get frozen into ice and fall down. This form of precipitation is called sleet.
When there are strong vertical currents in the atmosphere, condensation takes
place at high altitudes at low temperature. Ice crystals grow in size gradually but
do not fall owing to ascending currents. Eventually, the ice crystals grow to a large
size of a few centimeters in diameter and fall down as solid masses. This form of
precipitation is called hail stone. Hail stone causes damage to crops and buildings.

Types of Rainfall
On the basis of their origin, rainfall may be classified into three main types:
1) Convectional Rainfall
2) Orographic Rainfall
3) Cyclonic Rainfall
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 Convectional Rainfall: This type of rainfall takes place when moist air over
the heated ground becomes warmer than the surrounding air and is forced to rise.
This forced air then expands, cools and condenses to form water. Convectional
rainfall is common in low latitudes and on summer days in interior part of the
continents, and usually come in the form of short heavy showers just after the
hottest part of the day, sometimes accompanied by thunder and lightening.

Fig. 4.6: Convectional rainfall

Orographic Rainfall: ‘Orographic’ rainfall is also sometimes called

‘orogenic’ rainfall. We get this term from the Greek word oros, meaning
‘mountain.’ This occurs when moist wind is forced to rise over a mountain or
other elevation in its path. Thus the windward sides of many mountain ranges receive
heavy precipitation; whereas the leeward sides along which the air moves down
receives less rain fall. Such situation occurs widely along the western coast of
India.
The moist air from the Arabian Sea is forced by the Western Ghats to rise up
resulting in expansion, cooling, and rainfall. On the other side of the Western
Ghats, the descending wind is devoid of moisture and hence, does not give the rain
in the central part of Deccan Plateau. Hence, this region is dry and known as rain-
shadow region.
48 Social Studies Atmosphere
 Fig. 4.7: Orographic Rainfall

Cyclonic rainfall: This type of rainfall is associated with the passage of a

cyclone or a depression. There are two types of cyclones – the tropical cyclones
and the temperate cyclones. The term cyclone is derived from the Greek word
‘kyklon’ meaning ‘revolving.’
Tropical cyclones are warm-core vortex circulation of tropical origin with a
small diameter (some hundreds of kilometers) often of an approximately circular
shape, minimum surface pressure (less than 900 mb) with sustained maximum
winds of at least 33m/sec. They are developed on the warm sea surface (26oC to
27oC) and move towards the
land. The winds are lifted up
by the movement of
cyclones. The uplifted air
gives heavy rainfall.
Temperate cyclones occur
when the cold, dry, denser air
masses converge with warm,
wet, lighter air masses. The
warmer air, being lighter, is
lifted up by the denser cold
air and results in rainfall.

Fig. 4.8: Tropical Cyclone

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 Rainfall across the globe:
1. Between the latitudes 10o and 30o N and S of the equator, due to the trade
winds, rainfall is heavier on the eastern coasts, and decreases towards the
west.
2. Between the latitudes 40o and 60o N and S of the equator due to the westerlies,
the rainfall is heavy on the west coast, and decreases towards the East.
3. Low pressure areas, especially around the equator receive high rainfall than
high pressure areas.
4. The rainfall is higher over the oceans than on the continent.

Keywords
1. Convectional currents
2. Inter Tropical Convergence Zone
3. Coriolis effect

Improve your learning

1. Explain the composition of the atmosphere. (AS1)
2. Discuss the structure of the atmosphere along with a diagram. (AS1)
3. Differentiate weather and climate. (AS1)
4. Compare and contrast convectional and orographic rainfall. (AS1)
5. Describe the distribution of rainfall across the world. (AS1)
6. How do climatic changes influence human life? (AS1)
7. Explain relative humidity. (AS1)
8. Why does the amount of water vapour decrease rapidly with altitude? (AS1)
9. What is coriolis effect? Explain its effects. (AS1)
10. Identify the location of the given local winds in the world map? (AS5)
a) Chinook b) Loo c) Simoon d) Yoma
e) Norwester f) Mistral g) Puna h) Pampero
11. Read the paragraph under the title ‘Effects of Planetary Winds’ on page 43 and
comment on it. (AS2)

Project
1. Collect weather information covered by media such as newspapers, TV, Radio etc.
to understand weather phenomenon.
2. Collect the newspapers from July to December and note down the news related to
extreme rainfall in different parts of country.

50 Social Studies Atmosphere