Hey there!
I'm Kate the SimpleBiologist. Let's chat about climate.
But before we chat about climate...
maybe let's talk about the weather.
Have you ever felt betrayed by the weather?
Maybe you were wearing your favorite outfit...
only to get rained on.
Or you had your best hat blow away in the wind!
Well... that's weather.
The word weather refers to the air at a specific spot on Earth at a specific time.
And it can change from day to day or even from minute to minute.
The biggest change in weather happened in 1972 in Loma, Montana
where the air temperature went from -54F to 49F in just 24 hours!!
That's like going from frostbite if you're outside for five minutes
to I guess I'll just wear a light jacket...
in just one day.
But while the weather changes frequently...
the climate of a place stays the same.
Sometimes for over hundreds of years!
So... what is climate?
The climate of an area can be defined by a number of different
measurements but we're going to go through three.
So let's look at these three and
see how they make up climate.
Temperature is pretty straight forward.
Is it hot or is it cold?
Humidity is a bit more complicated.
Humidity is a measurement of how much water is in the air.
High humidity makes the air feel heavier and makes your skin feel sticky.
Whereas low humidity makes you feel dry.
In addition to temperature and humidity...
we have altitude, which is how high above sea level you are.
A sea level measurement of zero means that
you're on a beach looking at the ocean or...
at least you're at the same altitude that you be
if you were at the beach.
The highest mountain on earth is Mount Everest, and
it's about 29,000 feet above sea level!
That's about 27 Eiffel towers stacked on top of one another!
Places with high altitudes like Mt. Everest
have thinner air meaning less oxygen to breathe and
colder temperatures to deal with.
That's why there's always snow on top of mountains!
There are other factors that play a role in an area's
climate, but the big three are temperature, humidity, and altitude.
So now that we know what climate is...
Why is it so important?
Climate is important because it controls
what plants and animals can live in different places on Earth.
A hot and dry climate creates places like deserts.
And a desert isn't a good climate for
an animal like a polar bear!
But it is a good climate for an animal like a camel!
By looking at the climate of a place, you can predict
what kind of life you'll find there!
Whether it's hot and dry like a desert
Or hot and wet like a rain forest!
Usually climates stay the same for hundreds of years
making the plants and animals that live there really happy!
But sometimes...
Usually that change is so slow that the
plants and animals that live there have time to
either adapt or move to somewhere new.
But sometimes climates can change faster than the animals can adapt.
And right now all of the climates on earth are changing really fast.
The ice in the polar caps is melting.
The Earth is getting warmer.
The sea levels are rising.
And the world's deserts are getting bigger.
And... it's kind of our fault.
The coal, oil, and gas that we burn in the cars we drive and the factories we run
have changed Earth's climates.
They did this by putting gases into the air that
hold in heat, making the earth a warmer place.
It's kind of like putting a sweater over the entire world.
But we can unravel this sweater by burning less coal, gas, and oil
and instead using renewable energy sources like wind or solar.
Humans are smart and resourceful!
We can change the world as we know it!
So let's just make sure we change it for the better when it comes to climate.