Why is it cold in the winter time?

Answer 1

because the Earth's axis is on a tilt and in the Winter time we are angled away from the Sun. This means that, as the sun isn't shining dirctly down on us like in summer, the rays are less intense and therefore we get less energy per unit area.

This results in an overall colder temperature

Answer 2

In winter, we get less direct sunlight than in summer.

Try this simple demonstration:
lamp or flashlight
paper with a hole cut out (about 1 cm x 1 cm)
globe or large ball - size of basketball

Put the globe (representing earth) about 30 cm (1 foot) from the light source (representing the sun) Make sure the equator of your globe (or the seem of the ball, representing the equator) is not straight flat, but angled a bit away from you. (The equator should be higher nearer the light source and lower away from the light source)
Turn on your light source, and place your paper with a hole between them so the light hits the equator. What you will see is a square patch of light hitting the globe. Now move the paper up so that the square light hits near the top of the globe.
Notice that the square patch of light now covers more area. There is still the same amount of energy as before, but is is dispersed over more area, so it is less intense. This represents the Northern Hemisphere winter.
Move the paper down to the Southern Hemisphere. Here the light is more intense. This represents the Southern Hemisphere summer. This is why the Hemispheres are reversed in their seasons.

Answer 3

As well as spinning, the earth wobbles a bit. During the winter the earth is wobbling away from the sun. This has the effect of the light going more at an angle ( lower ) through the atmosphere. this saps the heat from it.

The wobbles takes a year to go from left to right and back again

Don't you wish YA has a quick stetch feature, some answers woudl be so much better with a sketch.

Answer 4

At the temperate latitudes, during summer the Sun remains longer and higher above the horizon, while in winter it remains shorter and lower. This is the cause of summer heat and winter cold

In winter, nights are longer than days, and the further one gets from the equator, the larger is the imbalance--until one gets so close to the pole that the sun never rises.

Answer 5

When it is winter, the sun's rays are farther away(not as direct) in the northern hemisphere and less time of daylight to warm it up~the days are a lot shorter. In the southern hemisphere, it is warmer for them now because the earth is tilted towards the sun. Check out where the sun rises in the morning and where it sets in the evening. It is never the same, even tho it is not as noticable daily as say every other week. We, up here, where it is beginning to snow today(Brrrrr-r), have south exposure windows for added heat in the winter. Our sun sets in the south west as compared to NW in the summer.

Answer 6

the axis of earth tilt so the north pole is away from the sun (in the northern hemisphere) causing rays of the sun to fall on the northern hemisphere part of the earth with an angel smaller than 90 degrees, this will make light spread on a larger surface area, and thus the heat spread accordingly, the unit area will get less energy from the sun as a result of that

Answer 7

Interestingly, the Earth is actually closer to the sun during the Northern Hemisphere winters due to the slight elliptical profile of its orbit. As most people have stated, it is due to the angle and lack of direct illumination that causes the change drop in temperature.

Answer 8

This is only true in the Northern Hemisphere. In the winter the northern hemisphere is leaning further away from the sun.

Answer 9

Two reasons:

a) less daylight hours

b) lower angle of sun causes sun's rays to be spread out over more land (less heat per area). When the sun is at 45 degrees in the sky, there is only about 70% of the heat energy per square mile as when it is right overhead. When it is at 20 degrees in the sky (mid winter in Minnesota), it has only 34% of energy per square mile. At 16 degrees above the horizon (midwinter in Calgary), it has only 28% energy. At 7 degrees above the horizon (midwinter at border of Alberta and Nunavut), it has only 12% energy. At one degree below the Arctic Circle in midwinter, the sun has only 1.7% of energy per square mile as where the sun is right overhead.

Answer 10

its all about the tilt of the axis. In the winter, the tilt puts you away from the sun's radiation, and in the summer, you are right in it.