Cambridge temperature data worksheet
2022 heatwave – consequences for people and place worksheet
Heat waves and climate change worksheet
Knowledge Organiser: 2022 Heatwave in Cambridge Case Study
In this lesson we deal with what hazardous weather is and why our weather is becoming more hazardous.
1.How do we define ‘extreme weather’ and why can it be difficult?
2.What events qualify as “extreme weather”?
3.What has happened to the frequency of extreme weather events globally?
4.What has happened to the distribution of extreme weather events?
This resource has been developed by Rob Gamesby (Cool Geography) with the Royal Meteorological Society and the Field Studies Council for the National Festival of Fieldwork.
All schools in England have to produce a Climate Action Plan, and part of that action plan involves assessing the schools’ vulnerability to extreme weather, such as heatwaves, and taking actions to reduce the risk of extreme heat.
These fieldwork options are designed to allow secondary geography students in our schools to explore how vulnerable their school is and what can be done to adapt to that risk.
Scheme of Work – start here!
Background information for teachers
Guidance for school Sustainability Leads
Lesson 1 – Introduction, Community Reminiscences and School Questionnaires
Reminiscences data collection Sheet
Questionnaire data collection sheet
Fieldwork Option – Variations in Temperature in the School Grounds
Fieldwork Option – the impact of trees on temperature
Fieldwork Option – Variations in Temperature between classrooms
We are delighted to have worked with the Better Plant Education (previously Young People’s Trust for the Environment – YPTE) to develop a four lesson scheme of work looking at heatwaves.
This package of lesson plans consists of 4 lessons:
By the end, students should be able to show which places in the school are most affected by extreme heat, understand what measures could be put in place to reduce the impact of extreme heat and be able to present their learning and research.
You are welcome to modify the lessons by adding your own slides to the presentations, or deleting ones you don’t need.
The lessons have been designed to support learners in Key Stage 2 (or equivalent) with understanding more about heatwaves, the reasons why we are likely to face more of them in the future and some steps that schools can take to protect young people during these events. The lessons can be adapted to suit other age groups by modifying the information given in the linked notes.
Heatwaves lesson plans – notes for teachers, start here!
PowerPoint (lower resolution)
Heatwaves_Sheet_Quiz_Questions
Heatwaves_Sheet_Research_Solutions
Heatwaves_Simple_Fieldwork_Record_Sheet
Heatwave_Solutions_Pros_and-Cons
Climate change has increased heat waves (high confidence) and drought (medium confidence) on land, and doubled the probability of marine heatwaves around most of Africa.
Heat waves on land, in lakes and in the ocean will increase considerably in magnitude and duration with increasing global warming.
Most African countries will enter unprecedented high temperature climates earlier in this century than generally wealthier, higher latitude countries, emphasising the urgency of adaptation measures in Africa.
Resource produced in collaboration with MEI
Brief overview of session ‘logic’
Mathematical opportunities offered
Download the resources
Resource produced in collaboration with MEI
Brief overview of session ‘logic’
Mathematical opportunities offered
Download the resources
Direct link to activity: https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/620d869a7b64ad91aa69baa8
This resource links to Figure 11.12 in the IPCC report of 2021. The aim of this resource is to answer the question how often will a heatwave hit the UK?
It was written with the Royal Geographical Society with IBG.
Box and whisker plots
Figure 11.12 (see Appendix B) is a box and whisker plot. The graph highlights that extreme temperature events are forecast to increase in the twenty-first century. Extreme temperature events are defined as the daily maximum temperatures that were exceeded once during a 10-year (or 50-year) period.
The dataset for Figure 11.12 is from the paper Changes in Annual Extremes of Daily Temperature and Precipitation in CMIP6 Models by Li et al., 2020. An extract of the data is shown below in Table 1 in Appendix A. The numbers in parenthesis ( ) and square brackets [ ] show respectively the central 66% and 90% uncertainty ranges of the estimated changes in annual maximum temperature, from identified warming level ‘windows’.
The warming of annual maximum temperature events is more uniform over land and increases linearly with global warming. There is high confidence that the magnitude of temperatures extremes will continue to increase more strongly than global mean temperature.
Figure 1 the European heatwave of 2021, heat is becoming more extreme and more frequent © University of Maine
The temperature at which an event is classed as a hot extreme is going up (faster than the mean temperature). In the mid-latitudes (between 30° and 60° north and south) the strongest warming is expected in the warm season, with an increase of up to 3°C for 1.5°C of global warming. This has led to events such as the ‘merciless’ temperature spike in Russia, and the ‘heat dome’ over North America in June 2021. The highest increase of temperature in the ‘hottest days’ is projected for some mid-latitude countries and semi-arid regions, such as in North America.
a. Draw an x axis and label Global warming above 1850-1900 (°C).
b. Draw the y axis and label Relative frequency change (for one in a 50-year events).
c. Identify the median (the middle) of the data set (which is given to you).
d. Use the 66% uncertainty data (parenthesis brackets) for each box plot.
e. Use the 90% uncertainty data [square bracket] for the whiskers.
In Europe the evidence predicts an increase in the frequency and intensity of hot extremes (warm days, warm nights, heat waves) and, in reverse, a decrease in the frequency and intensity of cold extremes. Heat wave increases will be greater over the south Mediterranean and Scandinavia with southern European cities expected to suffer the biggest increases in maximum heat wave temperatures.
Figure 2 extreme heat is afflicting Europe more regularly © Fabian Keller Unsplashed
2. Why do cities experience extreme heat more frequently?
3. Now repeat the same activity, graphing Relative frequency change, for the ocean dataset.
Whilst heatwaves will increase across Europe and in the UK, there will still be extreme cold in the future. It is a common misconception to think that, as the climate changes, we will only experience warm weather and extreme heat in the twenty-first century. In fact, the climate distribution will change. Extreme cold will still happen, just less frequently. Figure 3 below illustrates this misconception with a probability curve showing climate likelihood and temperature and, underneath, the change from our previous climate to a warmer one. Both the the threshold temperature for an event to be considered extreme, and the frequency of high temperatures, rise in a warming climate.
Figure 3 climate graphs © The Royal Meteorological Society Weather and Climate: A Teachers’ Guide
Using all the work you have completed answer the final question below. The instruction is to assess the likelihood that heat wave frequency will increase in the UK. This means you must consider the different arguments, likelihoods, and levels of certainty, after weighing them up, to come to a conclusion.
4. Assess the likelihood that heat wave frequency will increase in the UK.
Figure 4 Projected changes in the intensity of extreme temperature events under 1°C, 1.5°C, 2°C, 3°C, and 4°C global warming levels relative to the 1851-1900 baseline © The IPCC report
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