Weather and Climate

Other similarities between weather and climate include:

• 
  They are both linked to climatic states.
  
• 
  Any changes or shifts in weather and climate will have a substantial impact on the inhabitants of the area.
  
• 
  Both weather and climate show the atmospheric state of an area or region.
  
• 
  Temperature and precipitation play a big role in determining the weather and climate of an area.
  

Did you know?

Did you know that the science of monitoring and studying the atmosphere and predicting the weather and climate is called meteorology? The people that study weather and climate conditions are called meteorologists!

Weather vs climate: how are they studied?

The way we study weather and climate is similar. The same techniques are used, but climate is the study of weather over a longer period of time.
The Earth’s climate is studied by scientists using instruments, such as satellites. Data about the climate that is collected includes temperature, precipitation, wind speed, cloud cover and air chemistry. Satellites also collect information about glacier melting rates, which can tell us a lot about the Earth’s climate. Lots of measurements of the ocean are taken too because the ocean has a very big impact on climate. There are thousands of buoys that take measurements of the ocean surface and depths every day, including: sea levels, currents, sea ice, water surface temperature and heat content.
Weather balloons are also used, which are special types of balloons sent high into the atmosphere with instruments to measure pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed. The data collected from weather balloons provides valuable information for computer models that are used to forecast the weather.

What weather vs climate resources are there?

Try these resources below to teach your students about weather and climate and the differences between the two terms.

• 
  Follow this link to find all our resources on weather and climate for KS2!
  
• 
  Check out this Weather PowerPoint to aid the teaching of this topic.
  
• 
  Take a look at our KS1 Seasons PowerPoint to teach your pupils about varying climates.
  
• 
  You might like to take a look at our Twinkl Planit resources which organises all our relevant resources for a particular topic. These handy lesson packs are great for helping you plan your lessons, and they will save you valuable time. Here is our Weather and the Climate: Lesson 1 Pack.