Weather and climate are often confused, but understanding the difference is much easier than you think!
The atmospheric conditions observable day by day in the same place are the weather forecast: observing that in your city today it is sunny and yesterday it was raining is not enough to say that yours is a sunny or rainy city!
In fact, the weather is limited to keeping track of what temperature and conditions there are in the present and to making a forecast a few days into the future. Instead, to tell what the weather is like in your city, in your region or in your country, more daily data is needed, collected over a much longer period of time.
The analysis climate It is the result of monitoring the weather detected every day for several decades (at least 30 years), in the same place.
Thanks to these studies we can affirm that in the desert there is a arid climatebecause for a very long time, for years and years, it rained very rarely; in the areas humid climateon the contrary, over the decades there have even been six months in a row in which it has always rained!
PRACTICAL PROPOSAL
1.Try making your own weather station!
To make meteorological observations, you will need to collect measurements, such as temperature, at certain times; measure rainwater collected in a glass (rain gauge); observe the strength of the wind or the type of clouds that cross the sky.
You can build your own weather station from a wooden fruit box, any one with slats (not a closed panel) will do. Paint it with white paint, to increase the reflection of solar radiation and prevent the instruments you put inside from overheating.
If possible, also make a second shield, using wooden slats well spaced apart, so that air can still pass through. It would also be great to create a small door on the open side and a small roof with a panel to protect the instruments from the rain. Be careful to orient the opening towards the north so as not to influence the measurements of the instruments with any solar rays when you open the door.
The station should then be positioned at about 1.50/1.80 m above the ground on a lawn, in a place far enough away from houses so that the heat emitted by buildings or asphalted areas does not influence the measurements, especially the temperature.
Place inside the hut:
- a minimum and maximum thermometer;
- an aneroid (pointer) type barometer
- a hair hygrometer.
Instead, place outside:
- a rain gauge for agriculture;
- a mechanical or electronic anemometer.
If you don’t have an anemometer, to evaluate the wind direction, you could build a weather vane (like the typical “galletto”) with recycled wood, or use a small weather vane sleeve, which you can also make yourself with hydrophobic fabric (the sleeve, based on its inclination, also gives you some indication of the intensity of the wind).
For wind speed you can use a thin wooden board or other material placed vertically and free to oscillate on the vertical axis. Based on the inclination of the board with respect to the vertical you can create your own wind force scale. You could also use a ping pong ball hanging from a string and measure the angle using a simple protractor to which you will have appropriately glued the other end of the string.
Then collect the temperature data daily at pre-set intervals, possibly always at the same time, for example at 8 in the morning and then if you can at 1 pm and 8 pm and report them in a table.
Write down the minimum and maximum temperatures you measured and the total precipitation expressed in millimeters of rain, which you can read on the scale of your simple rain gauge, emptying it after the measurement.
Also note the condition of the sky (for example: clear, partly cloudy, overcast) and any phenomena such as rain, snow, thunderstorms, strong winds, etc.
You can then plot the data on a graph and perhaps compare it with data from a weather station near yours.
If you are precise, scrupulous and constant you will be able to observe the weather trend over time and see the change of the meteorological variables you have chosen to observe with the seasons.
2.Climate Interview
To understand a change in progress, you need to document it: in our everyday experience, a good way could be to go through the testimonies of people and useful materials such as articles, videos, photographs.
Try interviewing people you know, choosing them of different ages by decade of birth and ask them what the climate was like when they were your age and if they perceive it as having changed today.
You might ask questions like: Have you noticed that the climate has changed since you were a child? What changes have you noticed? Do you have photos or videos that show the changes?
It can be very useful to identify some habits or situations typical of certain moments of the year (e.g. how people dressed on the occasion of a certain holiday, when they collected certain herbs in the fields, when they took their first bath in the sea, if and when they played on frozen rivers and lakes, etc.) and compare the memories of those who were children/teenagers years ago with your experiences today.
Gather the information that people will give you and pay attention to their emotions as well.
Finally you can also ask the interviewees their opinion on what we can do to address climate change how we can act on its causes? How can we adapt to the new conditions?
Write a text, make a video or choose another way to tell what you have discovered about the relationship between people and climate change.
You will be able to share the testimonies and documents you have collected in class and tell your classmates what you have discovered.
SUGGESTIONS
Link
Friuli Venezia Giulia Cloud Atlas
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