Weather And Climate

Question 1

What is weather?

Answer 1

Weather is the short term state of the atmosphere. Includes temperature, volume and type of precipitation, amount of sunlight, the air pressure and wind speed and direction. It can change day to day and hour to hour and is localised.

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

Climate is state of the atmosphere across a much larger timescale. Climate is also state of atmosphere on larger special scale.
Eg climate in July is relatively warm , but any July day could be rainy and cold

Question 3

Temperature

Answer 3

°C or °F

Maximum minimum thermometer

Question 4

Rainfall

Answer 4

Millimetres or inches

Rain gauge

Question 5

Wind speed

Answer 5

Mph
Kilometres per hour
Metres per second
Anemometer

Question 6

Wind direction

Answer 6

Where moving air is COMING FROM
compass points
Wind vane

Question 7

Air pressure

Answer 7

Millibars (mb)

Barometer

Question 8

Humidity

Answer 8

Percent

Hygrometer

Question 9

How does rainfall occur

Answer 9

1. Sun warms Earth’s surface
2. The Earth warms overlying atmosphere / as oceans warm water is evaporated from them, forming water vapour in atmosphere
3. As humid (moist) air warms, becomes less dense and rises
   ➡️as air rises it starts to cool as it gets further from Earth’s surface , as it cools water vapour condenses into tiny droplets of liquid water which become clouds⬇️
   Water droplets too heavy, fall from sky as precipitation
   Air from nearby rushes in to replace rising air
   ⬇️we feel this as wind

Question 10

Relief rainfall

Answer 10

When air saturated with water vapour is blown from sea to land and encounters mountain range, forced to rise
Brings persistent rainfall on the windward side of the mountain, as air descends to sheltered side of mountain it becomes warm and dry, creating a rain shadow where there is little rain.

Question 11

Convections rainfall

Answer 11

Hot summer’s day- Earths surface heated very quickly
Heats overflying air, becomes less dense than surrounding and rises through convection. Can form large cumulonimbus clouds that bring heavy rainfall / storms

Question 12

Frontal rainfall

Answer 12

Warm low density moving north from tropics encounters an area of cold dense air moving south from the poles, warm air forced to rise over cold air. Meeting point of two air masses is called a front, and persistent steady rainfall generated called frontal rainfall

Question 13

Polar maritime air mass

Answer 13

From Greenland or arctic sea

Wet cold air brings cold rainy weather

Question 14

Arctic maritime air mass

Answer 14

From arctic

Wet cold air brings snow in winter

Question 15

Polar continental air mass

Answer 15

Form Central Europe
Hot air brings dry summers
Cold air brings snow in winter

Question 16

Tropical continental air mass

Answer 16

From North Africa

Hot dry air brings hot weather in summer

Question 17

Tropical maritime air mass

Answer 17

From Atlantic

Warm, moist air brings cloud rain and mild weather

Question 18

Greenhouse gas effect

Answer 18

Shortwave radiation from sun ➡️ earths atmosphere to warm surface
As surface warms, emits own radiation, but long wave infra red radiation, some absorbed by greenhouse gases in atmosphere such as carbon dioxide and methane.Energy remains trapped in atmosphere, keeping Earth warmer.
Increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in atmosphere through burning fossil fuels and agriculture
More greenhouse gases means more outgoing long wave radiation gets absorbed , so less escapes into space. With more heat trapped in atmosphere, planet warms up.