How can there be snow in the equator?

Answer 1

Snow can fall anywhere the temperature is low enough and it is not extremely dry (as with Manchuria in winter or the Desert Andes). At the equator, where insolation is very high, this can occur only much higher altitudes than in cooler latitudes.

As one ascends a mountain the temperature falls by about 1˚C every 150 metres. At the equator, temperatures average around 27˚C or 80˚F at sea level, so snow instead of rain typically falls above 4,500 to 4,600 metres (18,000 feet) above sea level. Between this latitude and around 3,000 metres or 9,800 feet, there is a pattern of nightly freezes followed by a strong daily thaw all year round due to the combination of thin chilled air and extremely high solar radiation. Even above the snow line, there is some thaw but it is more than balanced by freezing and with the high precipitation snow remains on the ground, as with Mount Kenya, the Rwenzoris and the Tropical Andes.

It must be noted that the snow line at the equator is by no means the highest in the world. Slightly longer days and stable air at the Tropics means that more snow can be melted and less will fall. Even in the humid Himalayas the snow line is around 5,500 to 5,600 metres and in the Desert Andes it is as high as 6,500 metres. As far from the equator as the Uinta Mountains in Utah at 43˚N, the permanent snow line remains as high as at the equator due to low precipitation and long, hot summer days.

Answer 2

It does not snow on the equator except at very high altitudes, where snow is restricted by the reduced convection at cool temperatures. Typically frosts occur at the equator above 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) and daily temperatures reach freezing at 4,500 metres (14,800 feet).

Snow may fall on the equator slightly below 4,500 metres, but it stays on the ground only above 4,600 metres. Since there is no seasonal temperature change at the equator, snow that stays on the ground will be permanent. This is why the snow line shows an "equatorial depression" from its highest altitudes at the Tropics, and why permanent snow exists on the equator but not within 450 kilometres of the Tropics - though it does snow in such latitudes in winter on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in Hawaii and Yushan in Taiwan.

Answer 3

Since equatorial countries are very lush and tropical, you'll have to climb up very high to find snow. In Africa, Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa's highest mountain) both have snow year-round. There are also snow-capped mountains in the Latin American country of Ecuador. In fact, the equator line runs right through Mount Cotopaxi and the Cayambe snow mountains, which are around 5800 meters tall.

Answer 4

Owing to the very high insolation and consequent hot temperatures, it generally cannot snow on the equator as temperatures at sea level rarely get below 25˚C (77˚F) even at night. However, owing to the tendency of equatorial air to rise, temperatures become cooler at higher elevations, and at altitudes of above 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) it is cool enough by night for frosts even at the equator. By the time an altitude of 4,500 metres or 14,800 feet, the average temperature is freezing even at the equator. Because of the lack of seasonal temperature variations at the equator, snow that falls at any time of year will remain on the ground.

Even above the snow line, there is some thaw and sublimation in the thin air but it is more than balanced by freezing and with the high precipitation snow remains on the ground, as with Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya in East Africa or Mt. Cotopaxi in Ecuador, which are both very close to the equator.

It should be noted that the snow line at the equator is by no means the highest in the world. Slightly longer days and stable air at the Tropics means that more snow can be melted and less will fall. Even in the humid Himalayas the snow line is around 5,500 to 5,600 metres and in the Desert Andes it is as high as 6,500 metres. As far from the equator as the Uinta Mountains in Utah at 43˚N, the permanent snow line stands as high as at the equator due to low precipitation and long, hot summer days.

Answer 5

Snowfalls occur at the equator only above the line of freezing temperatures, which is between 4,500 and 4,600 metres or 18,000 feet above sea level. Between this latitude and around 3,000 metres or 9,800 feet, there is a pattern of nightly freezes followed by a strong daily thaw all year round due to the combination of thin chilled air and extremely high solar radiation. Even above the snow line, there is some thaw buagsddst it is more than balanced by freezing and with the high precipitation snow remains on the ground, as with Mount Kenya, the Rwenzoris and the Tropical Andes.

It should be noted that the snow line at the equator is by no means the highest in the world. Slightly longer days and stable air at the Tropics means that more snow can be melted and less will fall. Even in the humid Himalayas the snow sdafgsaline is around 5,500 to 5,600 metres and in the Desert Andes it is as high as 6,500 metres. As far from the equator as the Uinta Mountains in Utah at 43˚N, the snow line is still as high as at the equator due to low precipitation and long, hot summer days. Your Welcome?