Is the Equator the Hottest Place on Earth?

 Tell Me Why

Is the Equator the Hottest Place on Earth?

Climate is what describes a place as cold or hot, and climate is determined by the heat of the sun.

The sun’s heat is what gives the earth its warmth or coldness. The sun’s heat also affects the difference in air pressure, which contributes to the occurrence of winds. The sun’s heat and the winds together produce ocean currents. Therefore, when studying the climate of a certain region, it is important to take into consideration the effect of the sun’s heat on that region. And because the surface of the earth is curved, the effect of the sun’s heat on the equator is strong, while this effect becomes weaker at the poles.

The sun’s rays meet the equator vertically, while they meet the areas above and below the equatorial region at an inclined angle. Thus, the heat at the equator is greater than it is in the tropical regions and the regions far from the equator.

A jungle in Borneo near the equator
A snow-covered peak near the equator in Africa

When the sun’s rays meet the surface of the earth at an angle, the rays pass through an atmosphere, and the air absorbs their heat. This is another reason for the weakness of heat in distant regions.

All of this makes the equatorial region one of the hottest regions on the surface of the earth. We are speaking about climate that depends on the heat of the sun. There are other factors that enter into climate and make it a physical climate, including water, ocean waters and their currents, the elevation of the land, and land regions. These can all combine to form different climates regardless of their location on the surface of the earth. Thus, we may find the climate of a region far from the equator hotter than a region on the equator itself, although the equatorial region is considered one of the hottest regions on earth.