2. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
Weather and Climate
The weather is the situation of the
atmosphere during a short period (a day or
shorter), and a small surface of the Earth (a
city , for example). It is very irregular and
changes a lot.
The climate is the situation of the atmosphere
during a long period of time and a big surface.
The elements of the climate
The climate has these elements: temperature, rainfall, pressure,
and wind. We can measure these elements.
The temperature:
We measure the atmospheric temperature with a thermometer in
Celsius degrees (ºC).
The temperature of a place changes with the latitude.
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3. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
According to temperatures, the Earth is divided in five zones:
One hot zone, located between the tropics
Two temperate zones, located between the poles and the
tropics.
Two cold zones, that are located in the Artic Pole and the
Antarctic Pole.
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4. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
The temperature is how hot or cold
something is, for example the
atmosphere. Use a thermometer to see
how many degrees Celsius/centigrade it
is above or below freezing (0ºC).
To be able to identify a climate you need
to describe the temperature of the
hottest and de coldest months and the
temperature range.
Rain
Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air
cannot hold it. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the
earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow.
We need a rain gauge to measure precipitations. It shows (in
millimetres) the quantity of water fallen during a period of time: a
day, a month…
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5. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
Precipitation is the moisture
that falls from the air to the
ground. The most common
form of precipitation is rain
snow or hail.
To identify a climate you also
need to describe the total
amount of annual rainfall that
is how many millimetres fall in a year.
Pressure
Atmospheric pressure (or air pressure) is the weight of air on the
earth's surface.We measure pressure with a barometer.
Meteorologists use the milibar as a unit of measure.
The atmospheric pressure depends on air temperature and
altitude.The average air pressure at sea level is 1013 mb.
When pressure is higher than 1013 mb in a certain area of the Earth,
it is called a high pressure. If it is lower than 1013 mb, it is called low
pressure.
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6. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
We show pressure on a weather map with lines called isobars.
Isobars match points with equal pressure.
THE WIND
Wind is air in motion. Two factors are necessary to specify wind:
speed and direction. We measure the speed of the wind with an
anemometer.
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7. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
EXERCISES
CLIMOGRAPH 1
A climograph shows the temperatures (line ) and the amount of
precipitation (bars ) for the months of one year.
1. Work in pairs. Look at the climograph and make sentences:
The X axis the months of the year
The Y axis on the left represents temperature in ºC
The Y axis on the right shows precipitation in mm
2. Look at the climograph and answer the questions
a) What is the temperature in May?
b) What is the amount of precipitation in December?
c) What is the hottest month?
d) What is the coldest month?
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8. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
e) What is the wettest month?
f) What is the driest month?
g) The data in the climograph is taken from which hemisphere?
3. Work in pairs. Write 4 characteristics of this climate.
CLIMOGRAPH 2
1. __________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________
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9. Ciencias Sociales Bilingual Section
of
1º E.S.O I.E.S. Guadiana
VOCABULARY
Weather Thermometer
Climate Anemometer
Rainfall Barometer
Pressure Precipitation
Temperature Rain gauge
Wind Condense
Measure Amount
Degree Hail
Poles Average
Tropics Range
Sea level Speed
Isobar Climograph
Above Axis
Below Data
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