Weather and Climate
Aligned to 3-ESS2 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Weather is the day-to-day condition of the air; climate is the typical weather of a region over many years. We use data to describe both.
Worked examples
Example 1
A single rainy day is weather; the fact that a rainforest is rainy most of the year is its climate.
Example 2
A surprise snowstorm in a desert town is weather. The desert still has a dry, hot climate.
Example 3
Climate is measured over many years. One cold summer does not change a region's climate.
Practice questions
- What's the difference between weather and climate?
- How could you record weather data for a week?
- Describe the climate of a place you know.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
El tiempo y el clima
El tiempo meteorológico es la condición del aire día a día; el clima es el tiempo típico de una región a lo largo de muchos años. Usamos datos para describir ambos.
Ejemplo 1: Un día lluvioso es el tiempo meteorológico; el hecho de que una selva tropical sea lluviosa la mayor parte del año es su clima.
Ejemplo 2: Una nevada sorpresa en un pueblo del desierto es el tiempo meteorológico. El desierto sigue teniendo un clima seco y caluroso.
Ejemplo 3: El clima se mide a lo largo de muchos años. Un verano frío no cambia el clima de una región.
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