There are many many factors affecting the Earth's climate. Followings are the important ones affecting general climate:
Solar radiation: the sun's intensity and the sun-to-earth distance determines how much solar radiation reaches the top of the atmosphere.
Atmospheric composition: affects how much solar radiation is reflected to space, how much reaches the earth's surface, and how much gets trapped in the atmosphere after reaching the surface. For example, clouds reflect incoming radiation quite well, but they also trap radiation in the atmosphere after it reaches the surface.
Albedo or reflectivity: affects how much of the radiation that reaches the surface will be reflected back to space versus how much will be absorbed by the surface. Snow reflects most of the solar radiation that reaches it, while asphalt reflects almost none.
For climate in a specific area:
Earth rotation axis angle: the angle of the planet's axis of rotation with respect to the plane on which the planet revolves around the sun. This affects the differences between seasons for every location on earth.
Earth surface characteristics: the distribution of continents and oceans. Close to large water bodies makes the climate milder (warmer in winter and cooler in summer) and more humid. On continents, the location of mountains and plains also makes a difference.
|