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The Sahara Desert in North Africa is the largest hot desert in the world and is one of the hottest, driest and sunniest places on Earth. Located just south of the Sahara is a narrow semi-desert steppe (a semi-arid region) called the Sahel , while Africa's most southern areas contain both savanna plains , and its central portion, including the ...
Over the years the Earth's eccentricity has varied between 0.005 and 0.0607, today the eccentricity of Earth's orbit is approximately 0.0167. [5] While the value of eccentricity does impact the distance of the Earth from the Sun, its primary impact on insolation comes from its modulating effect on the procession cycle.
Climate change in Africa is an increasingly serious threat as Africa is among the most vulnerable continents to the effects of climate change. [1] [2] [3] Some sources even classify Africa as "the most vulnerable continent on Earth". [4] [5] Climate change and climate variability will likely reduce agricultural production, food security and ...
The five components of the climate system all interact. They are the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. [1]: 1451 Earth's climate system is a complex system with five interacting components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things).
Earth is approximately 290 K (17 °C; 62 °F), so its radiation peaks near 10,000 nm, and is much too long to be visible to humans. Because of its temperature, the atmosphere emits infrared radiation. For example, on clear nights Earth's surface cools down faster than on cloudy nights.
Oxygen, O 2, meanwhile, was present in the atmosphere at just 0.001% of its present atmospheric level. [11] [12] The Sun shone at about 70% of its current brightness 4 billion years ago, but there is strong evidence that liquid water existed on Earth at the time. A warm Earth, in spite of a faint Sun, is known as the faint young Sun paradox. [13]
Earth's energy budget (or Earth's energy balance) is the balance between the energy that Earth receives from the Sun and the energy the Earth loses back into outer space. Smaller energy sources, such as Earth's internal heat, are taken into consideration, but make a tiny contribution compared to solar energy.
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km 2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. [9] With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population.