Latitude: Latitude is the horizontal lines through the earth. We get the equator with the concept of Latitude.
Longitude: Longitude is the verticle lines through the earth.
For more explanation:
Imagine our world as a three-dimensional ball. Latitudes are imaginary lines that run from west to east, parallel to the equator. The equator is the longest latitude and the line that divides the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres. Latitudes measure the distance in degrees starting with the equator at 0 degrees and go up in number from 1 to 90 degrees all the way to the North Pole. On the other hand, the latitude going down the equator is marked in negative numbers until it reaches the South Pole, which is numbered as -90 degrees.
Along with the equator, the other important latitudes are the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, the Arctic Circle, and the Antarctic Circle. These lines help to define different climate zones of the world based on the amount of sunlight a region receives throughout the year. The region between the tropical lines gets the most sunlight and is known as the tropical zone, where the climate is generally warm and humid along with heavy rainfall. The region between the tropics and polar circles is called the temperate zone, which has all four seasons. The regions beyond polar circles are known as the polar zone where the climate is wintry and snowy due to the lack of sunlight.
On the other hand, longitudes start from the North Pole and move apart at the equator, just to meet again at the South Pole. The line stretching at the center is called the prime meridian and divides the earth into the western and eastern hemispheres. The prime meridian is marked at 0 degrees and goes up in number to 180 towards the east, whereas, to the west, it is denoted with negative numbers up to -180 degrees. These lines help determine the time zone around the globe because as we know when it’s night in one hemisphere, it’s daytime in the other and vice versa.
The zero-degree longitude that passes through Greenwich near London is considered a standard and all the time of all other zones are calculated accordingly. To tell the time difference between two places, you need to count the number of longitude degrees between them, and every degree is a four-minute difference. For example, if it is 12:00 PM at Greenwich, which is at 0 degrees, then it will be 12:04 PM at 1-degree medium, and so on.
The latitude and longitude position of any location in the world is known as its coordinates. The latitude is shown first, followed by the longitude. So if you have been asked to find a place with the coordinates of 20 degrees and 78 degrees, just look at the latitude at 20 degrees and the longitude at 78 degrees and examine where these lines cross to determine the exact place, which in this case is India.
In conclusion, there are 118 latitudes in total, whereas 360 longitudes around the earth. We hope you learned something new about latitude and longitude and how it helps locate places on earth.