Atmospheric precipitation is moisture that falls on the surface of the earth from the atmosphere. They accumulate in the clouds, but not all of them allow moisture to fall on the surface of the planet. For this, it is necessary that the drops or crystals can overcome the air resistance by gaining enough mass for this. This happens due to the connection of drops with each other.
Rainfall 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 features.
The main types:
- rain - water droplets from 0.5 mm in size;
- drizzle - water particles up to 0.5 mm;
- snow - hexagonal ice crystals;
- snow croup - rounded cores with a diameter of 1 mm or more, which can be easily squeezed with your fingers;
- ice croup - rounded cores covered with ice crust that jump when falling to the surface;
- hail - large ice particles of a rounded shape, which sometimes can weigh more than 300 g.
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 falls during the equinox and solstice, which occur in the 04, 10, 06, 01 months of the year.
- Monsoon. Uneven precipitation - the maximum amount of precipitation in the summer season, the minimum in the winter season.
- Mediterranean. The maximum precipitation is recorded in winter, the minimum is in summer. It occurs in the subtropics, on the western coasts and in the middle of the continent. There is a gradual decrease in the amount as you approach the central part of the mainland.
- Continental. Precipitation is greater precisely in the warm season, and with the advent of cold weather it becomes less.
- Nautical. Uniform distribution of moisture throughout the year. A slight maximum is observed in the autumn-winter period.
What affects the distribution of precipitation on Earth
In order to understand where there is a maximum amount of precipitation on Earth, it is necessary to understand what this indicator depends on.
Rainfall is unevenly distributed throughout the year. Their number decreases territorially from the equator to the poles. We can say that their number is affected by geographical latitude.
Also, their distribution depends on air temperature, the movement of air masses, topography, remoteness from the coast, sea currents.
For example, if warm moist air masses meet mountains on their way, they, rising along their slopes, cool and give precipitation. Therefore, the maximum number of them falls on the mountain slopes, where the wettest parts of the Earth are located.
Where is the maximum rainfall
The equatorial territory is the leader in terms of annual rainfall. 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 volcano Cameroon (Mongo ma Ndemi), the maximum rainfall falls within 10,000 mm or more.
This is explained by high air temperature, high humidity, the prevalence of ascending air currents.
It has long been noted that at a geographical latitude from the equator 20º to the south and 20º to the north, almost 50% of all Earth's precipitation falls. Observations over many decades prove that the maximum amount of precipitation falls at the equator, especially in the mountains.
Distribution of the amount of precipitated moisture to the total by continents
Having made sure that the maximum amount of precipitation falls at the equator, we can consider the percentage of precipitation by continent as a percentage.
Maximum rainfallRainfall 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 | thirty | 8 |
more than 1000 | 4 | fifteen | 28 | 12 | 18 | 76 |
Maximum annual rainfall
The most rainy place on the planet is Mount Vamaleale (Hawaii). Here, it rains for 335 days a year. The opposite situation is observed in the Atacama Desert (Chile), in which rain during the year may not fall at all.
With regard to the highest average moisture per year, the highest rates are in the Hawaiian Islands and India. On Mount Wywil (Hawaii), the maximum rainfall is up to 11900 mm, and at Cherapundji Station (India) - up to 11400 mm. These two regions are richest in precipitation.
The driest regions are Africa and South America. For example, in the Khara oasis (Egypt), on average, less than 0.1 mm of moisture falls out per year on average, 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 in a minute fell in the city of Unionville (USA). It happened on 07/04/1956. Their number per minute was 31.2 mm.
If you continue the topic, then the maximum daily rainfall was recorded in the city of Silaos (Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean). From April 15, 1952 to April 16, 1952, 1870 mm of water fell out.
The maximum for the month belongs to the already famous city of Cherapundji (India), where in July 1861, 9,299 mm of rain fell. In the same year, the maximum indicator was recorded here, which amounted to 26461 mm per year.
All data presented is not final. Observations of weather conditions show many new records, including relatively precipitating moisture. So, the record for the most severe rain was broken 14 years later on the island of Guadeloupe. From the previous indicator, he differed by a few mm.