Weather is what happens day to day. Climate is the usual pattern of weather in a place over many years. A desert has a hot, dry climate. A rainforest near the equator is hot and wet all year. The polar regions are cold all year. Places in between, like much of Europe and North America, have a temperate climate with four seasons.
Scientists collect weather data such as temperature and rainfall for many years and show it in tables and graphs to describe a climate. This helps people choose crops, design houses and prepare for hazards. Floods, storms and droughts are weather hazards; people reduce their damage with flood barriers, strong roofs and storing water.
Worked example
A place has about the same high temperature and heavy rain every month. What climate is it likely to have?
- Hot all year and very wet are the clues.
- That pattern is found near the equator.
Answer:It is likely to be a tropical rainforest climate.
Key words
- climate
- the usual weather of a place over many years
- tropical
- hot, near the equator
- temperate
- mild, with four seasons
- rainfall
- how much rain falls, measured in millimetres
New questions every time.
NGSS-referenced: 3-ESS2-2