Geography Trial

Weather and Climate

by Mr. Andy Chee

​What is weather?

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​What is weather?

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Weather describes the day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere.

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What is climate?​

Climate describes average weather conditions over longer periods and over large areas.

Polar​ - very cold and dry all year

Temperate – cold winters and mild summers

Arid – dry, hot all year

Tropical – hot and wet all year

Mediterranean – mild winters, dry hot summers

Mountains (tundra) - very cold all year

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Weather or Climate?​

​Weather or Climate

Multiple Choice

I hope the ........................... is sunny tomorrow.

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

Last month the ........................ was so wet!

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

Global warming is a change in the world’s ........................

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

Spain is usually hotter than England in the summer.

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

It rained so hard last night I couldn’t sleep.

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

I want to go to the Sahara Desert because it is really hot and it never rains.

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

Everyone always thinks that it rains all the time in Malaysia.

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

This weekend was so hot and sunny.

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

Antarctica is really cold!

• Weather

• Climate

Multiple Choice

I don’t like the winter in England, it always rains and it’s so cold.

• Weather

• Climate

​Measuring the weather

• Temperature

  Precipitation

  Wind speed and direction

  Cloud cover and visibility

  Air pressure

  Humidity

• ​Sunshine

​Temperature

Temperature is measured in Celsius (°C) using a thermometer. The thermometer must be shaded from direct sunlight and should have air circulating around it. The thermometers can be placed in a...

​Temperature

...Stevenson Screen. This is a wooden box with slatted sides, a sloping roof and legs to keep the screen off the ground. It is painted white to reflect the sun.

Precipitation

Precipitation is measured using a rain gauge. This is a funnel inside a graduated container. The depth of the rain in millimetres can be read from the side of the container.

Wind Speed and Direction

Wind direction is reported by the direction it is blowing from, according to the compass. Wind blowing from the west is travelling eastwards so is called a westerly wind, not an easterly wind.

Wind speed can be measured using an anemometer. The strength of the wind is measured on the Beaufort scale.

Cloud cover and Visibility

Cloud cover is measured in units called oktas. Each okta represents one eighth of the sky covered by cloud.

Air Pressure

Air is light but because there is so much of it above us, it exerts a pressure on us. Air pressure is measured by a barometer. The units used are millibars. The greater the reading, the higher the pressure.

Humidity

Humidity is the word used to describe the amount of water vapour in the air. It can indicate how likely is it that there will be dew, fog or precipitation. When it comes to 100% relative humidity, it means that the air is completely saturated with water vapour and isn’t able to hold any more. This also means that there’s a strong possibility of rain.

Sunshine

Sunshine is recorded with a simple, yet clever device, called a Campbell-Stokes recorder, the design of which goes back to 1879. In this device a glass sphere concentrates sunlight onto a card and the amount of scorching on the card records the amount of sunlight that had fallen on it.

Multiple Choice

To make sure that the thermometer is working properly, we place in in a ........................

• Stevenson Screen

• Thermometer

• Rain Gauge

• Box

Multiple Choice

We use a ............................. to measure the temperature.

• Barometer

• Thermometer

• Rain Gauge

• Wind Vane

Multiple Choice

Precipitation is measured using a .................................

• Barometer

• Thermometer

• Rain Gauge

• Wind Vane

Multiple Choice

This helps us to measure

• Air Pressure

• Wind Direction

• Wind Speed

• Rainfall

Multiple Choice

To measure wind direction, we use a ...............................

• Barometer

• Thermometer

• Rain Gauge

• Wind Vane

Multiple Choice

A barometer is used to measure ...............................

• Air Pressure

• Wind Direction

• Wind Speed

• Rainfall

Multiple Choice

A Campbell-Stokes recorder is used to measure ...............................

• Air Pressure

• Sunshine

• Cloud Cover

• Rainfall

Multiple Choice

Cloud cover is measured in units called .....................

• Relative Humidity

• Oktas

• Millibars

• Millimeters

​Today's forecast

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