A. Physical Patterns in a Changing World · Physical Patterns in a Changing World

Climate Regions of the World

A3.6About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain the difference between weather and climate.
I can describe the characteristics of tropical, dry, temperate, continental, polar and highland climates.
I can describe the general pattern of climate regions from the equator to the poles.

Words to know

weather
The conditions of the air (temperature, precipitation, wind, cloud) at one place and time.

climate
The usual pattern of weather in a place, averaged over many years (often 30 years).

precipitation
Water that falls from the sky as rain, snow, sleet or hail.

climate region
A large area where the climate is similar.

equator
The imaginary line around the middle of Earth at 0° latitude.

latitude
How far north or south a place is from the equator, measured in degrees.

arid
Very dry; getting very little precipitation.

Shorts or a parka?

A friend in Singapore wears shorts almost every day of the year. A cousin in Iqaluit, Nunavut, needs a heavy parka for much of the year. You, in Ontario, need both, depending on the season! These differences are not just about one day's weather. They are about climate.

Colourful wooden houses on stilts sit on a snowy, treeless hillside above a frozen bay at sunset. — An Arctic town in winter: no trees, deep snow and sea ice on the bay. A long, very cold winter is part of the climate here, not just one day's weather. AI-generated image

Weather or climate?

Weather is what's happening now: "It's −8 °C and snowing today."
Climate is the long-term pattern: "Winters here are usually cold and snowy." Climate is worked out by averaging weather over many years, usually 30 years.

A saying helps: Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.

In Grade 4 you learned that Canada's physical regions have different climates. Now you'll look at climate regions around the whole world.

Weather is one day's conditions. Climate is the average pattern of many years of weather, so one odd day doesn't change it. (The dots are made up, just to show the idea.)

Climate region	Temperature	Precipitation	Where (examples)
Tropical wet (rainforest)	Hot all year (about 25–28 °C), little change between months	Very high; rain in most months	Amazon basin, Congo basin, Indonesia, Singapore
Tropical wet-and-dry (savanna)	Hot all year	One rainy season and one dry season	Much of central and eastern Africa, northern Australia, parts of India and Brazil
Dry (desert and semi-arid)	Often very hot days; can be cold at night or in winter	Very low; deserts get the least	Sahara, Arabian Desert, central Australia; the Prairies are partly semi-arid
Temperate (mild)	Mild winters, warm or hot summers	Moderate; varies by type	Vancouver and Victoria, much of western Europe, the Mediterranean, southeastern United States
Continental	Cold winters, warm to hot summers; big difference between seasons	Moderate; snow in winter	Most of southern Canada (including Ontario), central Russia, northern China
Polar (tundra and ice cap)	Very cold; short, cool summers or none	Low (polar areas are often dry)	Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Antarctica
Highland (mountain)	Gets colder the higher you go	Varies with height and slope	Rockies, Andes, Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau

Major climate regions. (Geographers use more detailed systems too, such as the Köppen system.)

A simplified diagram of how climate regions are often arranged by latitude: tropical near the equator, many deserts near 30° north and south, temperate and continental in the middle latitudes, and polar near the poles. Not a map; not to scale.

The big pattern

On a world climate map, climate regions form rough bands from the equator to the poles:

Near the equator: tropical climates, hot all year.
Around 30° north and south: many of the world's big deserts (the Sahara, the Arabian Desert, the Australian deserts, the Kalahari).
The middle latitudes: temperate and continental climates with clear seasons. Continental climates are mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, in the middle of big continents.
Near the poles: polar climates.

The bands are not perfectly straight. Mountains, oceans and winds bend them. You'll find out why in the next lesson.

Worked example

Let's classify a climate from a description

A place has warm summers (about 21 °C in July), cold snowy winters (about −10 °C in January) and about 700 mm of precipitation spread through the year. It is in the middle of a large continent in the Northern Hemisphere. Which climate region is it?

Look at temperature: a big difference between summer and winter (21 − (−10) = 31 degrees). Not tropical (that is hot all year). Not polar (summers are warm).
Look at precipitation: 700 mm spread through the year. Not a desert (deserts get very little).
Look at location: the middle of a large Northern Hemisphere continent.
Match: cold winters + warm summers + moderate precipitation + inside a continent = continental.

It is a continental climate, like much of southern Canada.

Just for fun

What's the difference between weather and climate?

You can't weather a tree, but you can climate. (Try saying it out loud.)

Hands-on activity

Weather vs. climate detective

You need: a notebook, a thermometer (or a weather app or Environment and Climate Change Canada's website), and a pencil.

For 7 days, record the temperature at about the same time each day and whether there was precipitation.
Then look up the climate normal (the long-term average) for your town for this month. Environment and Climate Change Canada publishes these online. A grown-up can help you search "Canadian climate normals" with your town's name.
Compare: was this week warmer, colder, wetter or drier than usual?
Write one sentence about weather (your week) and one about climate (the normal).

What to look for: your child correctly uses "weather" for the daily readings and "climate" for the long-term average.

Your turn

Explain the difference between weather and climate.

Is "It snowed 15 cm in Sudbury yesterday" about weather or climate?

Which climate region is hot and rainy all year?

Which climate region does most of southern Ontario have?

Where are many of the world's big deserts found on a map?

Describe a polar climate.

What makes a highland climate different from other regions?

More practice: warm-up

How many years are usually averaged to describe a climate?

Which climate is near the equator?

What does "arid" mean?

Name one place with a polar climate.

Which Canadian city has a mild, temperate climate?

More practice: on your own

A place is about 27 °C every month and gets lots of rain all year. Classify the climate and give a world example.

A place has a hot rainy season and a hot dry season. What climate region is it?

Why is Antarctica called a desert even though it is covered in ice?

Compare continental and temperate climates.

A student says, "It was 30 °C last July in Ottawa, so Ottawa has a hot climate." What is wrong with this thinking?

Challenge

Look at the bands diagram. Explain why the climate pattern in the Southern Hemisphere looks partly like a mirror of the Northern Hemisphere.

Continental climates are mostly found in the Northern Hemisphere. Suggest a reason using a world map.

Choose two climate regions. Explain one way the climate affects how people live in each.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which statement is about climate?

A climate that is hot and wet all year is...

Most of southern Ontario has a ___ climate.

Many large deserts are found near...

What makes an area a desert?

In a highland climate, as you go higher it usually gets...

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation A3.6 asks students to describe patterns and characteristics of major climate regions (for example tropical, dry, temperate, continental and polar). Students should see the overall pattern by latitude and be able to classify a climate from its temperature and precipitation.

How to help: Look at a world climate map in an atlas or online together. Ask where your family or friends have lived or travelled, and classify each place's climate. Use the phrase "climate is what you expect; weather is what you get".

Common difficulties:

Mixing up weather and climate (one hot day doesn't make a hot climate).
Thinking all deserts are hot: deserts are defined by low precipitation.
Thinking climate bands are perfectly straight: mountains, oceans and winds bend them (next lesson).