Correct Answer - Option 1 : Temperature anomaly
The correct answer is Temperature anomaly.
The difference between the mean temperature of any place and the mean temperature of its latitude is called Temperature anomaly.
Temperature anomaly:
- Temperature varies even along the same parallel of latitude, land and water contrasts, prevailing winds, and ocean currents.
- The difference between the mean temperature of any place and the mean temperature of its parallel is called the temperature anomaly or thermal anomaly.
- The anomaly is said to be negative when the temperature at a place is less than the expected temperature of the latitude.
- The anomaly is positive when the temperature at a place is more than the expected temperature of the latitude.
- In climate change studies, temperature anomalies are more important than absolute temperature.
- A temperature anomaly is a difference from an average, or baseline, temperature.
- The baseline temperature is typically computed by averaging 30 or more years of temperature data.
- A positive anomaly indicates the observed temperature was warmer than the baseline, while a negative anomaly indicates the observed temperature was cooler than the baseline.
- When calculating an average of absolute temperatures, things like station location or elevation will have an effect on the data (ex. higher elevations tend to be cooler than lower elevations and urban areas tend to be warmer than rural areas).
- However, when looking at anomalies, those factors are less critical. For example, a summer month over an area may be cooler than average, both at a mountain top and in a nearby valley, but the absolute temperatures will be quite different at the two locations.
- Using anomalies also helps minimize problems when stations are added, removed, or missing from the monitoring network.
