Topic: Climate Zones
The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, COP30, will be taking place in Brazil this year.
In this resource, students will use climate graphs taken from Copernicus’ ERA explorer, to determine which climate zone three cities in Brazil are in; Belém, Quixeramobim and Porto Alegre.
The cities have been chosen to represent Tropical, Dry and Temperate climate zones respectively.
The worksheet is adaptable so that you can choose which parts are appropriate for your class.
Learning Objectives include:
- To practice identifying climate zones
- To practice data skills such as addition, mean and sum as well as interpreting graphs.
- To be able to construct a climate graph.
Image: Adam Peterson Wikipedia
Köppen climate types of Brazil CC BY-SA 4.0
COP29 will take place in Azerbaijan in November 2024.
Adapt these ideas to support your teaching in the weeks leading up to and during the conference to engage your students with the negotiations and where they are taking place:
Priorities for COP29 include:
- Climate finance to developing countries to support climate change mitigation and adaptation.
- Encouraging countries to commit to more ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by 2035
- Developing a global carbon market
- Greening education
Azerbaijan in context
- Using google maps, explore where Azerbaijan is, who its neighbours are, how big it is (how many times the size of Wales), it’s in Eurovision, but is it in Europe?
- Azerbaijan’s population pyramid
- Azerbaijan’s GDP
- Azerbaijan contains 9 climate zones. What are the main factors that determine the local climate?
Sources: https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/azerbaijan/climate-data-historical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Azerbaijan https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Azerbaijan_topographic_map-az.svg - Construct or interpret climate graphs for one or more places/ climate zones in Azerbaijan using the information at https://en.climate-data.org/asia/azerbaijan-112/
- Contour drawing practice – the sketch map below has selected November temperatures for Azerbaijan. Draw the 10°C contour. (Click on image for an easy to print pdf)
Data sources: Google Earth, https://weatherandclimate.com/ and https://en.climate-data.org/ November mean temperatures (°C)
Climate change and climate justice in Azerbaijan
Explore the Global Carbon Atlas (some sample screenshots are below)
Graphical/ Numerical skills:
- What are Azerbaijan’s total emissions/ emissions per person/ emissions per GDP like compared to other countries? (use the graphs to ask specific questions such as how much more greenhouse gasses did the UK emit per person from fossil fuels in 2022 than Azerbaijan?)
- How have Azerbaijan’s emissions changed over time?
- What happened in the early 1990s?
Source: Global Carbon Atlas
Source: Global Carbon Atlas
Climate change in Azerbaijan
Use https://showyourstripes.info/ or the IPCC’s Interactive Atlas to see how the climate of Azerbaijan is changing relative to the whole world or to the UK.
Source: Showyourstripes.info Ed Hawkins/ University of Reading
Climate Change Risk in Azerbaijan
Explore https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/azerbaijan/heat-risk and https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-Climate-Change/INFORM-Climate-Change-Tool
https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-Climate-Change/Results-and-data
Also
https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-Risk/Country-Risk-Profile
https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-Risk/Risk-Facts-Figures
How vulnerable is Azerbaijan to climate change? What impact of climate change (sea level change, river flooding, drought, disease or conflict) poses the greatest risk to Azerbaijan?
Source EU/ Inform Climate Change Tool
Climate Justice
Climate justice recognises the fact that the people and countries most vulnerable to climate change are often not the ones who have done the most to cause it.
Thinking about Azerbaijan’s greenhouse gas emissions, GDP and vulnerability to climate change, write a paragraph to justify this definition of climate justice.
Possible extension – Azerbaijan’s climate mitigation action is rated ‘critically insufficient’ by the Climate Action Tracker. How does this relate to the concept of climate justice?
Other useful sources of information:
https://www.adb.org/publications/climate-risk-country-profile-azerbaijan
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2023-10/Second%20NDC_Azerbaijan_ENG_Final%20%281%29.pdf
According to the IPCC report for Policymakers “Changes in the land biosphere since 1970 are consistent with global warming: climate zones have shifted poleward in both hemispheres, and the growing season has on average lengthened by up to two days per decade since the 1950s North of the Tropic of Cancer”1
- Complete the table below on the positives and negatives of the changes described above
Summary of changes to the Biosphere from the report2
- Warming contributed to an overall spring advancement in the Northern Hemisphere.
- There are increases in the length of the thermal growing season over much of the land surface since at least the mid-20th century. The thermal growing season is the length of time in a calendar year when temperatures are warm enough for agricultural activity.
- Over the Northern Hemisphere as a whole, an increase of about 2.0 days per decade is evident for 1951–2018 with slightly larger increases north of 45°N.
- Over North America, a rise of about 1.3 days per decade is apparent in the United States for 1900–2014 with larger increases after 1980.
- Growing season length in China increased by at least 1.0 days per decade since 1960 .
- Peak bloom dates for cherry blossoms in Kyoto, Japan have occurred progressively earlier in the growing season in recent decades. In 2021, peak bloom was reached on 26 March, the earliest since the Japan Meteorological Agency started collecting the data in 1953 and 10 days ahead of the 30-year average.3
- Grape harvest dates in Beaune, France have also been earlier. Using harvest data for Beaune stretching back nearly 700 years it has been noted that from 1354 to 1987, grapes were on average picked from 28 September whereas during the last 31-year-long period of rapid warming from 1988 to 2018, harvests began 13 days earlier.4
2. Map the changes listed above on the appropriate regions on the world map below:
Source – https://equal-earth.com/
Changes in dates for various plants, crops and regions
Image source: Adjusted from IPCC 1
- Add straight lines of best fit to each graph.
- What has happened to the date of the grape harvest in France? Use data to describe the change.
- Which graph shows the greatest change?
- Which graph shows the smallest change?
- How might these changes affect insect, bird and land animals? You could research these and consider migration, harvesting, hibernation and flowering times.
- How might these changes affect farmers and food supply?
The change in growing season in the USA
Study the graph5 below:
- Complete the table below using information from the graph. Use the nearest WHOLE NUMBER available.
- Explain which location has the greatest change in its growing season. Use data from the table above in your response.
- Make a list of advantages that this shift in growing season will bring to the USA.
- Sources:
- IPCC, 2021: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press. P.7. Accessed 28th November 2021 at Sixth Assessment Report (ipcc.ch)
- IPCC, 2021: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press. P.517. Accessed 28th November 2021 at Sixth Assessment Report (ipcc.ch)
- Associated Press (author unknown), 2021. Climate crisis ‘likely cause’ of early cherry blossom in Japan. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/climate-crisis-likely-cause-of-early-cherry-blossom-in-japan [Accessed 28 November 2021]
- Mercer, C., 2021. Burgundy harvests getting earlier as vineyards heat up, says study – Decanter. [online] Decanter. Available at: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/burgundy-harvests-earlier-study-423807/ [Accessed 28 November 2021].
- US EPA. 2021. Climate Change Indicators: Length of Growing Season | US EPA. [online] Available at: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-length-growing-season [Accessed 28 November 2021].
- Visit https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4285 and play the animation showing most currently available global precipitation data.
- Look at the map below. Circle any patterns of rainfall that you see.
3. What is the type of land is below these rainfall patterns? (Green is forest, brown is desert).
4. In what latitude bands are these rainfall patterns?
Use these terms to fill in the blanks below for Questions 5-8: Hadley, cloud, humid, Sun, cloud, rainfall, low, ground, Ferrel, fronts, Equator, Hadley, poles, rainfall.
5. Rainfall occurs when ______ air cools down. Air cools when it rises, or when it moves away from the _______.
6. The Atmospheric Circulation is driven by the _____. In the Tropics, the Sun warms the _____ which in turn warms the air above. hot air rises, leading to _____ and _______. This drives the ________ cells.
7. Colder air sinks at the poleward edge of the _______ cells and over the __________. Sinking air has no _______ or __________.
8. In the _______ Cells, rainfall is mainly associated with ____ pressure systems (depressions). Rainfall is mainly on the ________.
9. Complete the following table (Look at the map for help):
Tropics | Sub Tropics | Poles | |
Skies | Clear/ Cloudy | Clear/ Cloudy | Clear/ Cloudy |
Rain (or snow)-fall | Dry/ Wet | Dry/ Wet | Dry/ Wet |
Pressure | High/ Low | High/ Low | High/ Low |
10. Sketch what you think the Hadley Cell looks like in December and June by the images of the Earth below. Hint: the Equator and Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are shown on the map.
Visit https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/overlay=precip_3hr/orthographic to see today’s rainfall patterns. Click on ‘Earth’ and then choose in the Overlay settings ‘3HPA’ to see the rainfall patterns together with surface wind speeds. Change in the settings the ‘Control’ to change the date and see rainfall patterns over time. Compare January and July rainfall patterns.
11. In the Tropics, how does the latitude of highest rainfall change between January and July? ___________________________________
12. How does this relate to the sketches you drew above? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Extension question: Why do you think you are asked to look at rainfall in January and July, rather than December and June? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Climate Zones
Background Information:
Our planet has several climatic zones; their classification is based on the temperature and precipitation over the seasons. The climatic zones can be simplified into:
Polar and Mountains – very cold and dry all year
Cool Temperate – cold winters and mild summers
Warm Temperate – mild winters, dry hot summers
Arid or Desert – dry, hot all year
Tropical – hot and wet all year
The climate of an area is affected by several factors: latitude (distance to the Equator), terrain, altitude (height) and how far from the sea or ocean it is.
Materials:
Coloured pencils
Plasticine (white, blue, green and black)
A small ball
A lamp
Suggested activities:
Discuss the idea of different regions of the world experiencing different climates. Make a mind map using ideas from pupils about climate zones and the factors that may affect the climate of a region.
Colour in the climate map below and colour it in according to the key.
N.B. Pupils may find the subsequent tasks easier if a logical colouring code is used like the one shown. Where hotter regions are highlighted in warm colours and cooler regions in cool colours, for simplicity the polar & mountain climate zones can stay white.
With the map coloured, pupils should look for patterns in the locations of the climate zones. Start by looking at the proximity to the equator and altitude with younger pupils. Explain that climate is in part affected by the absorption of heat from the sun. Different objects absorb heat at different rates (water is slower to heat and cool, land is much faster).
References/Resources:
Climate Zones: Internet Geography
Climates of the World: (Climate Zones) – detailed climate information for individual countries and areas within countries.
Practical Activities:
1. Modelling the Earth
You will need:
– Blue plasticine
– A small ball
– A heat lamp
Method: Make a model of the earth by covering a small ball with plasticine. Put the heat lamp a fair distance away from the ball – maybe 1m. Shine the heat lamp on the plasticine for a few minutes. Feel the difference in temperature between the ‘equator’ and the ‘poles’.
Results: The areas of the ball facing the lamp should feel much warmer than the areas pointing away – either the ‘poles’ or the ‘night’ side of the ball. When the surface of the Earth isn’t at right angles to the Sun, the Sun’s energy is spread over a wider area and it doesn’t heat up as much. This is the cause of much of the Earth’s weather. As the Earth orbits around the Sun, the Sun moves from being at right angles to the Tropic of Cancer to be overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn. This gives us seasons.
2. Modelling the Earth
You will need:
– White, blue and dark green plasticine
[Hint: Mixing some black with the green plasticine makes
a dark green that gives really good results]
– A small ball
– A sunny day
Method: Make a flat model of the earth by covering a piece of cardboard with white (Polar regions), blue (sea) and dark green (land) plasticine. Leave the map out in the Sun for 10 minutes. Feel the difference in temperature between the white and dark green areas.
Results: The darker areas should feel much warmer than the white poles. The colour of the area of land affects the ability to absorb light. Whiter regions (like the poles and mountains) reflect light and darker regions (like vast areas of tropical rainforest) absorb light and get warmer.
Use this Global Atmospheric Circulation practice exercise.
Changes to the Global Atmospheric Circulation as the climate changes.
Other Useful Links
- An animated gif showing how precipitation changes through the year around the world from views of the world.
- Near real time global precipitation
- Zoom Earth for satellite images
- Earth.nullschool.net
Summary of Weather and Climate Links in the 2014 KS2 National Curriculum
| Curriculum Links | |||
| Year 4 | Scheme of Work | Plants | Literacy |
| Year 3/ 4 | Scheme of Work | Climate zones | |
| Year 5/6 | Scheme of Work | Climate zones | Science – Light, Fossils |
General Resources
Acknowledgements
The Climate Change Schools Resources were developed by the Climate Change Schools Project, based at the then Science Learning Centre in Durham and led by Krista McKinzey. A large number of teachers and schools in North East England were involved in their development.
They have subsequently been updated by the Royal Meteorological Society.
Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide
Pathway: Climate
Climate Zones – Past Climate Change – Polar Climate – Hot Deserts
Lesson overview: In this lesson we look at the characteristics and locations of hot deserts and the adaptations of animals and vegetation found there.
Hot deserts have less than 250mm precipitation per year and daytime temperatures that may approach 50oC. Hot deserts cover 14.2% of the Earth’s surface, their distribution largely determined by the global atmospheric circulation. Physical factors such as altitude or latitude determine deserts with the most extreme values of precipitation/temperature. Their characteristics and distribution will change over long periods of time due to the Milankovitch cycles and Continental Drift. Climate change is projected to have complex effects and the size of arid regions is expected to grow. The plants and animals that live in the deserts around the world have adapted to cope with the extreme climate.
Learning objectives:
-
To be able to describe the characteristics and location of at least one hot desert.
-
To understand why hot deserts are hot and dry.
-
To be able to draw and interpret a climate graph of a hot desert.
-
To understand animal and plant adaptations to the hot desert climate.
Key Teaching Resources
Hot Deserts PowerPoint
Hot Deserts PowerPoint (easier)
Hot Deserts Worksheet
Hot Deserts Making Plants and Animals
Hot Deserts Making Plants and Animals – Info sheet
Hot Deserts homework
Teacher CPD/ Extended Reading
Read
Or watch
Alternative or Extension Resources
Using GIS to investigate temperature extremes
Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide
Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide
Pathway: Climate
Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation – Climate Zones – Past Climate Change – Polar Climate
Lesson overview: In this lesson we investigate why polar climates are so extreme and how it can be too cold to snow in Antarctica.
The extremes of Polar weather – the lowest temperatures on Earth and little precipitation – vary significantly throughout the year. Antarctica has the harshest conditions, recording an annual mean low of nearly -60oC due to its elevation and distance from the sea. Low levels of precipitation define Polar regions as deserts and it can be too dry to snow. The effects of climate change are amplified in these regions through feedback mechanisms which in turn affect global climate.
Learning objectives:
-
To understand why it is cold in Polar regions.
-
To understand why our Polar regions are classified as deserts.
-
To be able to calculate mean temperature and total precipitation and interpret a climate graph
Key Teaching Resources
Polar Climate PowerPoint
Polar Climate PowerPoint (easier)
Polar Climate Worksheet
Polar Climate Worksheet (easier)
Beast from the East homework
Teacher CPD/ Extended Reading
Read
Polar Climate – More for Teachers
or Watch
Alternative or Extension Resources
Using GIS to investigate temperature extremes
Drawing polar climate graphs to look for evidence of climate change
Changing polar climate (advanced)
Impacts of polar climate change (advanced)
Comparing Arctic and global temperatures – data skills exercise – worksheet or Excel