Weather or climate? Two big words
Look out of the window. Is it sunny, cloudy, windy or rainy? That is the weather: the state of the air at one place and one time. Weather can change in an hour. Climate is different. Climate is the typical weather of a place over many years. In Egypt the climate is hot and dry in summer and mild in winter, and most of the rain falls along the Mediterranean coast. A hot afternoon in Luxor is weather. Luxor being hot and dry through most summers is climate. We say: weather is what you get today, climate is what you expect over many years. Climate decides what plants and animals live in a place and what clothes people usually wear.
| Weather | Climate | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | today, this hour | many years |
| Example | a windy afternoon | hot, dry summers |
| Changes | quickly | slowly |
| Day | Temperature | Sky |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | 29 | sunny |
| Tue | 31 | sunny |
| Wed | 27 | cloudy |
Weather diary. For one week, a grown-up and you look outside at the same time each day. Draw the sky and write the temperature (use the weather report, not a thermometer in the sun). At the end say: what is the weather like this week? Then ask a grandparent what the climate was like when they were young.