Weather Flashcards
What is weather?
Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific time
What is climate?
Climate is the state of the atmosphere over a long period of time, usually 30+ years
What do you call the force pushing down on us?
Air pressure
What do you call the water vapour in the sky?
Precipitation
What do you measure precipitation with?
A rain gauge
What do you measure temperature with?
A thermomater
How do we measure wind speed?
Using an anemometer
How do we measure wind direction?
Using a wind vane
What measurements are used for cloud cover ( how much of the sky is covered in clouds )?
Oktas
How do we measure air pressure?
using a barometer
What is temperature measured in?
Degrees
What is air pressure measured in?
Millibars
Can cold air hold vapour water?
No
What is convectional rainfall?
Sun heats the land and air, causing warm air to rise along with water vapour. The warm air then cools and condenses, forming clouds which then create rainfall.
What is relief rainfall?
Warm, moist air rises over high areas before cooling and forming clouds. It then rains. The air descends, warms and becomes drier.
What is frontal rainfall?
When a warm front meets a cold front and the cold air sinks to the ground. The warm air then rises above it before cooling and forming clouds. This brings heavy rainfall
What is altitude?
The height of land
What is a rainshadow?
The leeward side of mountains that don’t receive much rainfall
Why are places close to the sea warmer in winter?
Because the seas are warmer than the land which means places close to the sea are warmed up
Why are places close to the sea colder in summer?
The seas are cooler than the land in summer, cooling down areas near the sea
What is the Gulf stream?
Warm water that travels from the North of Mexico into the Atlantic ocean
What is extreme weather?
Any weather event that is significantly different from the average weather of a specific place
Name 3 examples of extreme weather:
- hurricanes
- floods
- snow storms
What is maritime?
Wet weather
What is continental?
Dry weather
What is tropical?
Warm weather?
What is polar?
Cold weather
Weather that is polar maritime is_______
cold wet weather
Weather that is tropical continental is_____
warm dry weather
Name 3 hazards from hurricanes/tropical storms:
- infrastructure being destroyed due to strong winds which could cause injuries or increased homelessness
- flooding which can cause injuries and destruction of homes
- Flying objects which can cause injuries or death
What is the main human cause of climate change?
- The enhanced greenhouse effect
Name 5 impacts of climate change:
- spread of disease = tropical diseases like malaria may spread to places like the UK as the climate warms
- Heatwaves = heatwaves will become more common and severe which could cause deaths due to the unusual heat or lack of food from droughts
- Storms = extreme weather is becoming more common which brings more floods, hurricanes and storms. This can cause injuries , destruction of infrastructure and more
- Extinction = 25% of plants and animals are at risk of becoming extinct which decreases the amount of medicine we can source through plants and could destroy ecosystems due to disruption of food chains
- Rising sea levels = sea levels rising due to melting glaciers could increase floods and threaten to destroy cities and areas on the coast
What are natural affects of climate change?
Sunspots - the more, the warmer
Volcanic eruptions - ash blocks the sun which creates a volcanic winter
The earths orbit - if its circular, its warmer, if its ovular, its cooler
