Chapter 3, Problem 1RQ

To determine

The description of measures such as monthly mean temperature, annual mean temperature, and annual average temperature.

Answer to Problem 1RQ

$\text{Monthly mean temperature}=\frac{\text{Sum of the daily averages of temperature of each day in a month}}{\text{Total number of days in the month}}$

$\text{Annual mean temperature}=\frac{\text{Sum of mean temperatures of 12 months}}{\text{12 months}}$

$\text{Annual temperature range}=\text{Warmest monthly mean temperature - Coldest monthly mean temperature}$

Explanation of Solution

Thousands of weather stations are recording temperature daily on a global scale and the obtained data are gathered by different climatologists and meteorologists. The diurnal mean temperature of a place is calculated by finding the average of the readings taken for a day or by taking the sum of the maximum and minimum temperatures of a day and diving it by 2. The difference between the maximum and minimum temperature of a 24-hour time period gives the diurnal temperature range.

The sum of the daily averages of each day in a month divided by the total number of days in the particular month gives the monthly mean temperature. The average of the mean temperatures calculated for a year (that is12 months) gives the annual mean temperature. The difference between the warmest and coldest monthly average temperatures gives the annual temperature range.