Ask Dr Stupid: Why is the equator so hot?

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Dear Mima:
You wouldn't happen to be related to this person, would you? You both seem to like to hit that send button 5 times.

Why is the equator always pretty hot? Well, first we have to define what hot is, or even what hot means. Your question is so open-ended, it may be difficult to find a clear answer to your question. Still, Dr. Stupid will try.

First, Dr. Stupid will assume that by hot, you are referring to temperature. For that, Dr. Stupid must give a more astronomical explanation that corresponds with geography and longitude and lattitude. According to world maps and a globe, it would appear that most of the equator is covered by water. To extend that out, Dr. Stupid will refer to the region called "the tropics", which is defined as:

This area lies approximately between 23ƒ30'/23.5ƒ N latitude and 23ƒ30'/23.5ƒ S latitude, and includes all the parts of the Earth where the sun reaches a point directly overhead at least once during the solar year.

Still, this region is largely covered with water, which overall is relatively cool, at least compared to the ambient daytime temperatures. Overall, the water temperatures in this region are warmer than the rest of the planet. Why is this? That is relatively simple to explain.

Depending on where you live, the further north to further south from the equator that you live, you may have experienced some distinct periods of weather changes called "seasons". Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. Depending on exactly where you live, these changes can be relatively minor to dramatic, from frigid winters to scortching summers, or relatively mild chances between seasons. Where Dr. Stupid lives, it gets rather cold in the winter, but does not snow, although a 2 hour drive gets Dr. Stupid to where it snows. Summers can sometimes get very hot, with occasional and rare temperature spikes to 120 degrees Farenheight, although peaks to 110 are more common, while 105-106 are more expected. Again, your seasons will vary.

Seasonal changes are brought about by the position of the Earth relative to the sun. In this case, where Dr. Stupid lives, the sun and Earth are actually closer together during winter here, and the hot summers occur when the Earth is furthest from the sun. Distance is not the determining factor. The Earth is tilted off-axis at an angle of 23.45 degrees. While the planet still rotates on the poles, the poles are not oriented at an angle 90-degrees perpendicular to the light waves of the sun traveling towards the planet. This angle does not change during the course of the Earth's travel around the sun. For that explanation, a crude drawing is in order:


Key: / = Earth @ 23.45 degree angle

     * = Sun



Assuming start of year: /-------------*

Assuming Middle of year: *-------------/

You may have noticed how the Earth does not angle towards the sun at the half-way point in it's annual trip around the sun. It is as if there is a set of grooved tracks that the rotational axis points into that is offset by a fixed 23.45 degrees, which keeps the angle steady. Really, the best way to demonstrate this is with a flashlight, a dark room and a globe. To ensure the globe does not change its angle, it is best to set the globe up on a table, and walk around it with the flashlight pointed at the sun, while having someone sping the globe at a reasonable rate. Yes, Dr. Stupid knows that the Earth rotates around the sun and not the other way around. However, for the purposes of this demonstration, it is necessary to ensure the Earth's angle does not change, which could easily be accidentally altered by a moving assistant.

If you are still awake and are paying attention and have possibly done the demonstrations, you would see that as a result of this off-axis rotation, certain parts of the Earth receive more or less direct sunglight depending on where the Earth is on its rotation around the sun. Applying some minor logic, you should have also been able to conclude or observe that the region known as "the tropics" seems to receive a more constant amount of light durring the Earth's trip around the sun. Taking that one step further, the equator itself should therefore be receiving the most constant amount of light during this trip. Seasons in the tropics are very minimal. Chances in the seasons do occur, but are not as dramatic as in most other places around the world not in the tropics.

Another reason it is so hot on the equator, or the tropics, are the tropical rain forests. Dr. Stupid must mention that the tropical rain forests are only located on land, in case youn did not already know that. Combined with the humidity created by the region and these rain forests, it actually may not be as hot as you might think it is. The extreme humidity can give the impression that things are hotter than they may really be. Still, the region has a lot of humidity and the rain forests certainly help contribute to that as well. Still, these rain forests thrive in these hot and humid environments and are also an essential part of our global ecosystem. The rain forests and the plant life that inhabits it helps trap a lot of the heat radiated by the sun, which in turn keeps the region warm and humid even at night. In these regions, especially the parts more occupied by people and cities, seasons are more noted by "colder than average" or "more rain that normal" type seasons.

Looking more at the world map, the Sahara Desert is also in the tropics. Unlike the areas Dr. Stupid has been talking about, this area is not covered by rain forests, it is covered by sand. As a result, this region does get scortching hot during the day when the sun is out. At night, there is little vegetation to hold in the heat, and as a result, temperatures can plunge into the freezing. It is like this all year round.

So that explains the temperature, if by hot you were refering to temperature.

If by hot, you were talking about something else, then there is an entirely different explanation, although it is a direct correlation to the above explanation. Dr. Stupid feels that perhaps a PG-13 warning might be a good thing to throw in right now.

WARNING: This section is Rated PG-13. Many adults may need someone around the age of 13 to explain this section to them.

In the Tropics, there are more indigenous people. By this, we are referring to people who are largely disconnected from the more modern society. Dr. Stupid is not saying this is a bad thing. These people do not have to worry about things like cable bills, internet, dishwashers and banks. Heck, for the most part, these people run around naked and throw spears and shoot darts at potential food animals. This rampant nudity may be considered by some to be "hot" or even "sexy". At the same point, this nudity is not to be considered shameful, sinful or even bad. These people don't have the same inhibitions or moralistic codes that those of more large scale social orders have imposed upon the masses. That is not to say these people do not have morals. Anthropologists have learned that good values are truly universal, so all the regligious zealots out there should not be so quick to judge. Back to the "hot and sexy" opinion, of what Dr. Stupid has seen, well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, at let's just leave it at that.

In the more modernized world in the tropics, there are lots of beaches and vacation and travel spots. Lots of people like to wear revealing clothes, sometimes that means wearing tiny swimsuits. That can certainly be considered a definition of "hot" by some. Since the weather is fairly constant around the equator, it can be like this all year round. So, in those regards, it can always be hot at the equator. "Pretty" is a relative term. As Dr. Stupid said earlier, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I will tell you this a 400-pound human in a swimsui is NOT a pretty sight, man or woman. People do need to embrace responsibility with body types. If you have a bad body, it is your societal responsibility to keep it covered up!

Notice that Dr. Stupid did not use the term "civilized" to describe the modern world, or use the term "uncivilized" to describe those groups living in more ancient ways? Dr. Stupid feels that civilized is more a a statement of attitude. While we in a more technological advanced society may look at these people living more primatively as "uncivilized", if they were to see what types of crimes and war and political activities we engage in, they may very well look back at us and assume that we are uncivilized. These people are not better than us, nor are we better than they are. We are merely different groups of people. Better is a subjective term as well. If anything, we should leave these people alone so as not to contaminate them with our modernizations and let them continue to live as they are. Why? So that we may better understand them, and hence our relationship with the environment, and understand where we came from. These ancient peoples are not oddities or curiousites, they are treasures of our planet and must be protected, honored and respected. To know them is to truly know ourselves.
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