Why is it cold in winter, even though the sun is shining?

Answer 1

where you are during the winter plays a huge factor in the temperature of where you live. the earth rotates and during the seasons, depending on where you are, the earth tilts more away from the sun, causing where you live to be cold. the equator is the part of the earth that always stays in somewhat the same distance to the sun so the weather remains somewhat constant.

Answer 2

Because of the tilt of the earth, when one hemisphere of the earth is tilted toward the sun the other is tilted away from it. When a hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, the sun appears higher in the sky and the days are longer, making it warmer. When a hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, the sun is lower in the sky and the days are shorter, making it colder.

As for the orbit of the earth, it is not a perfect circle. It travels in an ellipse around the sun. The earth is at the closest point in its orbit to the sun (the perihelion) in the first week in January. That's winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere. The earth is at the farthest point in its orbit from the sun a half year later in early July. The earth is about 2 million miles closer to the sun in early January than it is in early July.

So clearly the tilt of the earth on its axis is far more important than how close or far the earth is from the sun.

Answer 3

Its kinda complicated, so hang on here. The Earth is tilted 23 or so degrees. As we rotate around the sun we end up at different angles to the sun. During the winter we are at the sharpest angle to the sun so the radiate heat from the sun glances of because of the angle. In the summer we tilt towards the sun and its radiant heat is more direct. I hope that simplified answer helps.

Answer 4

yea the tilt of the earth has a little to do with it but the major factor has to do with the airflow called the Jetstream it brings cold air from the polar cap and that is why it can be cold during sunny weather and with thetilt of the earth it is harder for the sun to heat the earth

as an example about 25 yrs ago it was in the hi 80's on the west side of the north cascade mtn's and hi 90's on the east side and at 5000ft above sea leval we had snow IN AUGUST!!!! it was a freek event and it had to do with the flow of the jet stream

Answer 5

Because of the Earths present position in it's orbit around the Sun, the Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the sun, so there is less heating by the sun in the Northern Hemisphere, thus winter.

Answer 6

its because of how far away the earth is from the sun! did u ever notice how if u go far north (like alaska or upper canada) it gets cold? thats bcause the earth is round and as you go extremely north or south, you are getting further away from the sun. in the winter, the earth actually tilts backwards, this means theat if you are north of the equator, you are getting farther away from the sun making it colder. that is why it is always warm in the tropics along the equator, wehn the earth tilts in the winter, the equator stays relativley in the same place!

Answer 7

The air in the atmosphere is cold becuae of the tilt of the earth and the amout of time it is exposed to the sun. Also during the day the temp can go up a bit you just may not notice.

Answer 8

It has to do with the tilt of the earth. In summer, your hemisphere is tilted closer to the sun making it warmer and in winter it is tilted away from the sun making it colder. That's why it's summer in Australia at Christmas while it's snowing in New England.

Answer 9

2 reasons...The earth orbits further away from the sun during the winter(making the heat from the sun less intense)... and because theres extra cloud cover, which also blocks some of the sunlight out.

Answer 10

Because we are further away from the sun in winter.