Weather and Climate

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What is the Difference Between Weather and Climate?

Weather: the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.

Climate: the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period.

Prévisions sur 7 jours

Ven.	Sam.	Dim.	Lun.	Mar.	Mer.

+15°	+13°	+12°	+15°	+10°	+11°
+8°	+1°	+3°	+4°	+7°	+4°

Weather

Rainfall

For all types of rainfall

"Air must RISE and COOL"

Click on the image to go to the interactive link

Temperature

How latitude affects temperature

Sea Temperature and Currents

There are warm and cold currents that circulate our planet and depending on which one is present on the coast this will impact temperature.

Cold Currents = Dry conditions with cool breezes
Warm Currents = Wet conditions with warm breezes

How altitude impacts temperature

Wind Direction

Wind direction can really impact temperature and weather. Simply put if it comes from somewhere warm it will heat the area and if it comes from somewhere cold it will cool the area. Also, if it comes from the sea it is more likely to cause rainfall and if it comes from the land it is more likely to cause dry conditions.

Latitude

Latitude affects temperature in three ways:

Near the poles the sun's rays are spread over a larger surface area than the equator and therefore do not have the same 'intensity' .
The equatorial regions are slightly closer to the sun and therefore warmer.
Less heat is lost to the atmosphere near the equator due to the fact that there is less distance for the sun's rays to pass through.

The impact of the sea on temperature

Altitude

The higher up you go the colder it gets. Typically you lose 1°C with every 100 meters that you go up in altitude. This is because there is less atmosphere to retain the sun's heat (think of it as a duvet, the thicker it is the warmer it is).

The impact of wind direction on temperature

Atmospheric Presure & Wind

Atmospheric pressure

There are two types of pressure:

High pressure = Cool sinking air. This causes clear skies.
Low pressure = Warm rising air. This causes unstable weather and precipitation.

Wind is generated from the interaction of High and Low air pressures. Wind moves from High pressure to Low pressure.

Depressions

Watch the following Slide Share and think about the weather conditions that you will experience as a atmospheric depression passes over you.

Compete the following worksheet