Lesson video

Hi geographers, my name's Ms. Hoggett and I'm really excited you've decided to learn some geography with me today.

I'm sure if you try your best you're going to be absolutely fantastic.

Don't worry too much if you've not studied this topic before.

I'm here to help you every step of the way.

Our unit today is "Weather and climate: how do they vary?" And our lesson is titled "World climate zones." Our learning outcome for today is that we can describe the pattern of climate zones and know some of the factors that affect climate, such as latitude.

We have a number of keywords that are going to help us through today's lesson, and they are climate zones, temperature, latitude and altitude.

Climate zones are areas that have similar weather conditions and climate, such as the tropics.

Temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness of a place.

Latitude are imaginary lines on Earth showing positions north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees.

And altitude is the height above sea level or ground level.

So these four keywords are going to help us through today's lesson.

This lesson is split into two learning cycles.

"How does latitude affect climate?" and "What other factors affect climate?" We're going to start with our first learning cycle, "How does latitude affect climate?" As a reminder, climate is the average weather recorded over a long period, usually 30 years, in a specific place.

The climate is what we expect.

Sam tells us that "this is different to the weather, as weather is what I can see outside of my window day to day.

Weather can change often." What's the weather like where you are? Pause the video and have a look outside your window.

What you expected? Sometimes the weather matches the climate, but sometimes it's different.

When describing climate, we focus on average temperature and precipitation received in a place by month across the year.

We typically display this information on a climate graph, such as this one for Coventry in the West Midlands.

On this climate graph, we can see the average for temperature and precipitation every single month.

Temperature is recorded on the Y axis on the left-hand side using degree Celsius and correlates to the red line.

Precipitation is using the Y axis on the right-hand side, is recorded in millimetres and refers to the blue bars.

We can see that the temperature fluctuates, starting at about 4 degrees, increasing up to about 17 degrees in July.

We can also see that whilst we do have precipitation every month, February is the driest month with approximately 45 millimetres of precipitation, and July is the wettest month with approximately 70 millimetres of precipitation.

Therefore, this is typical of a temperate maritime climate and the type of climate graph we would see for the United Kingdom.

But it's not just the United Kingdom that we're focusing on today.

We want to think about how latitude affects climate around the whole world.

So areas of the world experiencing the same or similar climates can be grouped together in climate zones.

On the screen there is a map showing the different climate zones around the world.

I'd like you to pause the video and have a think about what patterns you can see on this map of climate zones.

Well done for having a think.

Did you recognise that at the Equator it's all red, but then further north and south it goes to orange, yellow, green, and blue, almost like it's mirrored? Well done if you noticed that 'cause that's exactly what I wanted you to see.

But this map is showing our climate zones.

Climate zones form a pattern of east to west belts north and south of the Equator.

So along the Equator it's all red, and then the next belt is orange, and the next belt is yellow, the next belt is green and the next belt is blue in both the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere.

This is because we have different climate zones here.

So along the Equator we have our equatorial climate zone.

These are hot and wet locations.

Often we find tropical rainforests here, such as the Amazon rainforest in Brazil or the Congo rainforests in Africa.

Along the tropics, it's hot but it's dry.

This is where we find the tropical and desert climate zones.

And in the north of Africa we find the Sahara Desert.

That's the largest hot desert in the whole world.

Between the tropics and the Arctic or the Antarctic Circle, the temperature is mild and wet.

This is where the UK is found, and we know the UK has a temperate maritime climate because it's mild and wet all year round.

And then the final climate zone between the Arctic or the Antarctic Circle to the Poles is cold and dry.

This is where we find places such as Svalbard where it's so cold that they actually have more polar bears than people.

Let's check your understanding so far.

So what's the correct definition of a climate zone? Is it A, a region where the weather changes frequently; B, a region where the weather stays the same throughout; or C, an area of the world experiencing the same or similar climate? Pause the video and have a think about your answer.

Well done if you said C, a climate zone is an area of the world experiencing the same or similar climate.

Good work, geographers, you're doing a fantastic job.

So why is this the case then? Well, the temperature is determined by the amount of solar energy received at the Earth's surface.

On this diagram, we can see how the amount of energy from the sun changes the further away from the Equator we go.

At the Equator, the energy from the sun is focused on a really small area and therefore it's warmer.

But the further away from the Equator we go, the energy from the sun is spread out over a larger area and therefore it's colder.

And this is due to the curvature of the Earth, because this affects how the sun's light hits different parts of the planet.

I would try shining a torch at a football because this will help exemplify that.

Sunlight hits the Equator directly, whereas at the Poles it hits at an angle and therefore the sunlight is more spread out.

This then impacts the temperature around the Earth, and that's why we have those varying climate zones.

We can then explain this by saying that the world can be split into three basic temperature zones.

So we have between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn an area where the temperature is generally really hot.

Then, as we move further north and south between the tropics and the Arctic and the Antarctic Circle, the temperature is mild.

And then, as we head towards the Poles, we can see the temperature is generally cold.

Now these three temperature zones have different geographical names.

The red section is what we call the tropical zone, the green section is the temperate zone, and the blue section is the polar zone.

And this helps us understand what the temperature is like in these three different locations.

This then helps us understand what the different climates are like in the different climate zones.

Let's check your understanding, true or false? At the Equator, the temperature is generally cold.

Pause the video and have a go at this knowledge check.

Well done if you said false because at the Equator energy from the sun is focused on a smaller area and therefore the temperature is warmer.

Good work, geographers.

We're now going to practise what we've learned so far in learning cycle one.

So using three colours to identify the tropical zone, temperate zone and polar zone on your climate zone map, I'd like you to shade in those different areas.

I'd really like you to remember to add a key as well because you need to know what those colours are referring to when you come back to this map.

For part two, I'd like you to explain how latitude affects climate using the word bank to help you.

You'll need to write this in full sentences.

The words you need to include are solar, energy, Equator, and temperature.

Pause the video and have a go at these two practise tasks.

Well done for giving that a really good go, geographers.

Let's check your answers.

So hopefully you've got your key written around your map and you've recognised that there are three temperature zones with tropical being the hottest, temperate being more mild, and polar being the coldest.

Well done if you've got that spot on.

For part two, your answer may have included the following.

"Climate zones form east to west belts that are north and south of the Equator.

The closer a place is to the Equator, the more direct sunlight it gets from the sun, which makes the temperature higher.

At the Poles, the temperature is lower, as the sunlight is more spread out." Well done if you've got that absolutely spot on.

You're doing a brilliant job.

We're at the end of learning cycle one now and we've thought about how latitude affects climate.

We're now ready to move on to learning cycle two, "What other factors affect climate?" to see if it's just latitude that's the only factor.

So even at the Equator there are places with cold climates due to altitude.

Altitude refers to the height above sea level.

Now higher land is cooler and wetter.

For approximately every 100 metres in height, the temperature drops by a whole degree Celsius.

That is why mountains such as the one in this image are snow-capped.

Really tall mountains such as Mount Everest or the Andes Mountains, for example, are much colder at the summit than they are at the base.

But this is also true of places in the UK, such as Dartmoor or Snowdonia, because at the peak of those they are much colder than they are at ground level.

Another example is Mount Everest.

So Everest Base Camp is 5,364 metres above sea level.

Temperatures here on average are about -17 degrees Celsius.

But if you go all the way to the summit of Mount Everest at 8,849 metres above sea level, temperatures drop even further to -37 degrees Celsius.

That's why it's such a challenge for explorers to get to the summit, because they have to be prepared to battle the really, really, really freezing cold temperatures.

So let's check your understanding.

What happens to temperature as altitude increases? Is it A, as altitude increases, temperature increases; B, as altitude increases, temperature decreases; or C, as altitude increases, temperature stays constant? Pause the video and have a go at answering that question.

Well done if you said B, as altitude increases, temperature decreases.

We saw that at the summit of Mount Everest it was -37 degrees Celsius, at the base it was -17 degrees Celsius, so it was colder at the summit.

Well done, everybody.

Now it's not just altitudes that affects climate around the world.

Actually, distance from the sea is also really important.

Places closer to the sea often have a milder and wetter climate than those inland.

This creates seasonal patterns.

Water takes longer to heat up than land, so in winter months the sea keeps coastal areas warmer than inland areas.

True or false, the sea always cools down the land so coastal areas are even colder than inland areas in winter.

Pause the video and have a go at answering this knowledge check.

Well done if you said false.

Water takes longer to heat up than land, so in winter months the sea keeps coastal areas warmer than inland areas.

Good work, geographers.

So we've got two factors there, altitude and distance from the sea.

But ocean currents are also really important.

Warm ocean currents bring milder temperatures and higher precipitation.

Cold ocean currents bring cooler temperatures and lower precipitation.

Have a look at this map on the screen.

You can see the cold and warm currents labelled on this map.

You can see they almost move around in circles.

The cold ocean current flowing along the southwest coast of Africa creates the Namib Desert.

Air cools as it passes over the cold ocean current and picks up less moisture.

There is little rainfall and the desert areas remain dry.

So we're going to have a go at practising what we've learned because there are three other factors that also affect our climate.

Altitude, ocean currents, and distance from the sea.

Glasgow and Moscow are located on a similar latitude, but the climate graphs show that in winter Glasgow is milder than Moscow.

Explain what factors may influence the climates on these places.

Lucas says you might want to use an atlas to help you.

Think about the other factors that affect climate that we thought about in this learning cycle and explain it in full sentences.

Pause the video to have a go at this practise task.

Well done for giving that a really, really good go, geographers.

I'm sure you've done fantastically.

Now your answer may have included some of the following points.

"The climate of Glasgow and Moscow is different because of their distance from the sea.

Glasgow is close to the Irish Sea, whereas Moscow is located far from the sea in the interior of Russia.

The ocean acts like a giant heat store, absorbing heat in the summer and releasing it in winter.

This helps keep places like Glasgow warmer in the winter.

Moscow, being far from the sea, doesn't have this benefit and cools down much faster.

Secondly, the North Atlantic Drift, a warm ocean current, flows near the west coast of Scotland.

This warm water helps keep the temperatures in Glasgow higher in the winter." Now there's a lot of information there in that paragraph and you might have written it slightly different to me, but as long as your facts are correct, which you can use my answer to check, then I'm happy, even if it's written in a different way.

Well done, geographers, absolutely superb work.

That was really tricky.

So we've come to the end of learning cycle two and we've come to the end of today's lesson.

In summary, climate zones are areas with a similar climate.

Factors such as latitude, altitude, and distance from the sea can affect the climate of a location.

The height above sea level affects the temperature.

The higher above sea level, the cooler the temperature.

And coastal areas tend to have warmer winters than inland areas, as the sea takes longer to cool down.

You've been absolutely fantastic today, geographers.

I'm really impressed with the work that you've produced.

Have a fantastic rest of your day and I will see you soon.