temperatelatitude

Temperatelatitude is a concept in climate studies that describes the latitudinal variation of surface temperature. It is defined as the latitudinal temperature gradient, typically measured as the slope of mean annual temperature with respect to latitude, expressed in °C per degree of latitude (°C/°lat). It can be estimated by regressing annual mean temperature on latitude using gridded data or model outputs.

Calculation and variants: The temperate-latitude gradient can be computed for annual means or seasonally, and can be weighted by the area of latitude bands to obtain a global gradient. Global analyses often report a gradient around −0.25 to −0.3 °C per degree of latitude, reflecting the general cooling toward higher latitudes. Regional values vary widely due to ocean heat transport, topography, and land-sea distribution.

Interpretation and importance: Temperatelatitude summarizes how rapidly climate changes with latitude and is a useful summary metric for comparing regions or evaluating climate models. It is sensitive to greenhouse forcing and internal climate variability; under many models, polar amplification reduces the gradient over time as high-latitude warming increases.

Limitations: It simplifies a complex pattern; gradients deviate due to seasonal effects, regional climates, and topography; care must be taken in how latitude bands are defined and weighted.