Climate of the Central Asian mountains
The climate in mountains differs from that on plains: with height, air temperature falls by about 6°C per 1000 m, air pressure falls, the air becomes clearer and solar radiation stronger, while humidity and precipitation increase up to a certain height. Moist air flows from the west and south rise along mountain slopes and cool, so western and south-western slopes receive more precipitation. In high mountains winter is long and summer short, snow falls heavily and lies for a long time, and the highest places have permanent snow and glaciers. In mountain valleys a mountain-valley wind blows: by day it carries warm air up the valley and at night it brings cool air down. So summer nights in mountain valleys are cool, yet mountains still keep the main climatic features of the surrounding plains.
“Temperature calculation”: the teacher picks 3 peaks and a valley from a map; groups estimate the peak temperatures from the valley temperature (6°C per 1000 m).