Weather vs Climate PDF

## Materials and cycles on Earth ### What is weather? When you look out of the window, what is the weather like? What people mean by weather is the state of the atmosphere and its changes from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, or week to week. In some places, the weather is very similar...

## Materials and cycles on Earth ### What is weather? When you look out of the window, what is the weather like? What people mean by weather is the state of the atmosphere and its changes from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, or week to week. In some places, the weather is very similar each day, but in others the weather changes frequently. When people talk about the weather they say things such as, 'What is the weather like today?', 'How hot is it today?' or 'Will it rain tomorrow?' They are thinking in the short term. People generally think about weather as the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility and wind. Countries all over the world take careful measurements of the weather to help predict what will happen next, to see patterns in the weather, and to provide information about the weather over time. For example, it is important to be prepared for snowstorms or heat waves as they can affect the transport systems, production of food, how much power people need to run their homes, and even what people want to buy in the shops. - Scotland - Namibia - New Zealand - Canada - Republic of Ireland - Bangladesh ### Questions 1. Describe the weather in each of the photographs. Use as many of the words from the *Getting started task* as you can. 2. Why do scientists take careful measurements of the weather? ## Weather or climate? What is the difference between weather and climate? When people talk about climate, they mean the weather of a place over a much longer time, usually more than 30 years. Weather can change in a few hours or even in minutes. Climate is the average weather in an area and takes several years to change. Climate information includes the statistics of weather information that tells us about the normal weather as well as the range of extreme weather at that place. Weather is affected by factors such as temperature, humidity, cloudiness and precipitation. Climate is affected by two key factors: temperature and precipitation. The study of weather is called **meteorology**. The study of climate is called **climatology**. ### Climate zones The map below shows the main climate zones on Earth. The key shows the names of these zones. - Polar - Tundra - Mountains - Temperate - Mediterranean - Arid - Tropical ## Each zone has a characteristic climate. | Climate zone | Description of climate | |---|---| | Polar | very cold and dry all year | | Temperate | cold winters and mild summers | | Arid | hot and dry all year | | Tropical | hot and wet all year | | Mediterranean | mild winters and hot, dry summers | | Mountains/tundra/taiga | very cold all year | ### Questions 3. Which climate zone do you live in? 4. Name two countries that are in the arid zone. (You may need to use an atlas to help you.) 5. Name two countries that have areas with a Mediterranean climate but are not near the Mediterranean Sea. 6. Name three countries that are in the tropical zone. 7. What is the difference between the climate in the arid zone and the tropical zone? 8. What are the differences between the climate in the temperate zone and the Mediterranean zone? What do I notice about how the climate zones are distributed? ## Summary Checklist - I can explain the difference between weather and climate. - I can make observations and take measurements of the weather.