Climate

📖 In short

Climate is what the weather is like in a place over many years. Weather is what happens today: rain, sun or wind; climate is what usually happens each year. For example, the desert climate is hot and dry, and the polar climate is very cold.

🤩 Did you know?

Climate scientists study average temperatures and rainfall over many years.
Britain's highlands get much more rain than its eastern plains.
A scientist who studies climate is called a climatologist.
Animals and plants adapt to the climate where they live.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 What decides climate?

Climate depends on many things: distance from the equator, height above sea level, nearness to the sea, winds, and mountains that block clouds.

🔍 Kinds of climate

There's the hot, rainy tropical climate; the hot, dry desert climate; the temperate climate with four seasons; the very cold polar climate; and the mountain climate, which gets colder the higher you go.

💡 The sea softens the weather

Cities near the sea are less hot in summer and less cold in winter than cities far from it, because water warms up and cools down slowly.

🎯 Climate is changing

Scientists say the Earth's climate is getting warmer because people burn lots of oil and coal. This melts ice and makes sea levels rise. We can help by saving energy and planting trees.

🧩 Test yourself

1 What is the difference between weather and climate?

2 What is the desert climate like?

3 Which picture shows “Climate”?

🌋 Discover more

📷 Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons

NASA · Public domain