Weather and Climate
- Earth & Space
- Ages 8–11 · Grades 3–5
What you’ll find out
- Weather is the condition of the air at one time and place, measured with instruments.
- Recording measurements in tables and graphs reveals patterns.
- Climate is the typical pattern of weather in a region over many years.
No sign-up and no real names. In the lesson you check your understanding as you read, and practise until it sticks.
Measuring the weather
Weather is what the air is like at a particular time and place: hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or windy. Scientists measure it with tools. A thermometer shows the temperature, a rain gauge collects rain so you can measure how much fell, and a wind vane points towards where the wind is coming from. People record these measurements every day and put them into tables and graphs, which help them spot patterns.
Climate is the usual pattern
Weather can change from one day to the next, but climate is the usual pattern of weather in a place over many years. A desert has a hot, dry climate, and it may not rain for months. A rainforest has a hot, wet climate, with rain almost every day. Other places have cold winters and warm summers. Knowing a place’s climate tells you what weather to expect there at different times of year.
Curriculum links: NGSS 3-ESS2-1 · NGSS 3-ESS2-2 · Cambridge Primary Stages 4–6: Earth and space · NCERT Environmental Studies, Classes 3–5