ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Latitude

Hey kiddo, do you know the Earth is a big ball? When someone talks about latitude, they are talking about lines that go around this ball like a belt. They are imaginary lines that circle the Earth horizontally, going from the North Pole to the South Pole.

So, latitude tells you how far you are north or south of the Earth's equator. The equator is an imaginary line that circles the Earth at its widest point, kind of like the belt on your waist. It divides the Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

The equator is at zero degrees latitude. As you go north, the latitude increases until you reach the North Pole at 90 degrees North. As you go south, the latitude increases until you reach the South Pole at 90 degrees South. Places close to the equator have warm weather while places near the poles are colder.

Latitude is important because it helps us locate places on the Earth's surface. For example, when you use GPS in a car, it is based on latitude and longitude, which allows the car to know exactly where it is on the Earth's surface!