B. People and Environments · Global Communities

Climate Around the World

B3.4 B3.5 B1About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain the difference between weather and climate.
I can tell that places near the equator are usually warm, and places near the poles are usually cold.
I can describe some different climates, like polar, rainforest, desert and four-season climates.
I can explain that seasons are opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Words to know

weather
What the air outside is like today or this week: hot or cold, sunny, rainy, snowy or windy.

climate
The usual weather in a place over many, many years.

temperature
How hot or cold something is. We measure it in degrees Celsius (°C).

rainforest
A thick forest that gets a lot of rain. Many rainforests are near the equator and are hot all year.

desert
A place that gets very little rain or snow. Some deserts are hot, and some are cold.

season
A part of the year with its own kind of weather: spring, summer, fall (autumn) and winter.

Weather or climate?

This morning, was it sunny? Rainy? Snowy? That is the weather. Weather can change from day to day, or even hour to hour.

Climate is the usual weather in a place over many years. For example, in most of Ontario the climate has warm summers and cold, snowy winters. One warm day in January does not change the climate. Ontario winters are still usually cold!

A trick: Weather is what you wear today. Climate is what clothes you keep in your closet all year.

Near the equator, near the poles

The Sun's rays shine most directly on the middle of Earth, near the equator. So places near the equator are usually warm or hot all year. They do not get a snowy winter (except on very high mountains).

Near the North and South Poles, the Sun's rays are weak and slanted. These places are cold most of the year.

In between, many places have four seasons: a warm summer and a cold or cool winter. Most of southern Ontario is like this.

A white sand beach with palm trees and clear turquoise water under a bright blue sky. — Places near the equator, like this tropical beach, are warm all year. Palm trees grow there, and there is never a snowy winter. AI-generated image

A simple climate picture: hot near the equator, cold near the poles, and seasons in between. Ontario is in a part of the world with four seasons.

Climate	What it is like	Example places
Polar	Cold most of the year. Short, cool summers. Snow and ice.	Antarctica; the Arctic, including Nunavut in Canada
Four seasons	Warm or hot summers, cold or cool winters. Spring and fall in between.	most of southern Ontario; much of Europe
Tropical rainforest	Hot and rainy all year. Lots of tall trees and plants.	the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, near the equator
Hot desert	Very dry. Hot days. Nights can be cool.	the Sahara Desert in northern Africa
High mountain	The higher you go, the colder it gets.	Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has snow and ice at the top, even though it is near the equator

Some climates around the world

Other things that change climate

The equator rule is a great start, but other things matter too:

Mountains: It is colder high up. That is why some mountains near the equator have snow on top.
Oceans: Places beside an ocean often have milder weather. Vancouver, on the Pacific coast, has milder winters than Toronto.
Rain: Some warm places get lots of rain (rainforests). Others get almost none (deserts).

Opposite seasons

Here is a surprising fact. When it is winter in Canada, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere!

In December, children in Ontario may be building snow forts. At the same time, in Australia or Argentina, it is summer. Many families in Australia celebrate the December holidays with picnics or trips to the beach.

This happens because Earth is tilted. When the Northern Hemisphere is tipped toward the Sun, it has summer. At the same time, the Southern Hemisphere is tipped away, and it has winter.

On the same December day, children in Ontario may build a snowman while children in Australia go to the beach. The two hemispheres have opposite seasons.

Worked example

Let's sort places by climate

Use the globe picture and the table. What is the climate probably like in each place?

a town in the Amazon rainforest, very close to the equator
a research station in Antarctica
Ottawa, Ontario

Place 1 is near the equator, in a rainforest. Near the equator means warm all year. Rainforest means lots of rain. So: hot and rainy all year.
Place 2 is near the South Pole. Near the poles means cold most of the year, with snow and ice. That is a polar climate.
Place 3 is in between the equator and the North Pole. It has four seasons: warm summers and cold, snowy winters.

hot and rainy all year 2. polar: cold most of the year 3. four seasons

Worked example

Let's think about clothes

Amira lives in Toronto. In January she visits her cousin in Sydney, Australia. What should she pack?

Toronto in January: it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. She will wear a winter coat, boots and mittens to the airport.
Sydney is in the Southern Hemisphere. In January it is summer there.
So she should pack summer clothes: shorts, T-shirts, a sun hat, sunscreen and a bathing suit.

Amira should wear winter clothes to leave Toronto and pack summer clothes for Sydney.

Riddle time

Why did the weather reporter bring a bar of soap to work?

She was expecting showers!

Hands-on activity

Weather watcher

You need: paper, a pencil and a grown-up with a weather app or the newspaper.

Make a chart with 5 days. Each day, draw the weather (sun, cloud, rain or snow) and write the temperature in °C for your town.
With your grown-up, also look up the weather for a city near the equator (for example, Singapore or Quito in Ecuador) and a city in the Southern Hemisphere (for example, Sydney in Australia).
At the end of the week, compare. Which city was warmest? Which was coolest? Did any city have the opposite season from yours?

Talk: "Is one week the weather or the climate?" (It is the weather. Climate is the pattern over many years.)

Your turn

Is "It is snowing today" about weather or climate?

Is "Ontario usually has cold, snowy winters" about weather or climate?

Are places near the equator usually hot or cold?

Are places near the poles usually hot or cold?

What is a desert?

How many seasons does most of Ontario have? Name them.

When it is winter in Canada, what season is it in Australia?

More practice: warm-up

Which is hot and rainy all year: a rainforest or a polar place?

Which continent has a polar climate?

What do we use to measure temperature?

Is it colder at the top or the bottom of a tall mountain?

Name a hot desert in Africa.

More practice: on your own

Explain the difference between weather and climate in your own words.

Why are places near the equator usually warm?

Mount Kilimanjaro is near the equator. Why does it have snow at the top?

A family in Argentina is going to the beach in January. Why is that a good month for them?

Which city usually has milder winters: Vancouver or Toronto? Why?

Challenge

Jay says, "It was 15°C one day in February in our town, so our town's climate is warm." What would you tell Jay?

Is every place near the equator hot and rainy? Give a reason.

Your cousin lives in New Zealand (Southern Hemisphere). In what month might she build a snowman: July or December? Explain.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Climate means...

Places near the equator are usually...

Which place has a polar climate?

A desert is a place that...

When it is summer in Ontario, what season is it in Australia?

Why can a mountain near the equator have snow on top?

Which sentence is about weather?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Weather is day-to-day; climate is the usual pattern over many years. Generally, places near the equator are warm all year, places near the poles are cold, and places in between (like southern Ontario) have four seasons. Mountains, oceans and rainfall also shape climate, and seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere.

How to help at home:

Check the forecast together each morning and decide what to wear (weather). Then talk about what your family keeps in the closet all year (climate).
If you have relatives or friends in another climate, ask them what their weather is like this week and compare.
Look at photos of rainforests, deserts and polar places, and talk about how people dress there.

Common difficulties:

Mixing up weather and climate. Use the "what you wear today vs. what is in your closet" trick.
Thinking all hot places are deserts, or that deserts are always hot. Rainforests are hot and wet; Antarctica is a cold, dry place.
Opposite seasons. A ball and a flashlight help: tilt the ball and show which half gets more direct light. Do not worry if this is not fully understood; at Grade 2 it is enough to know the seasons are opposite.