What is climate and weather? The weather is the temperature, wind speed, cloud cover and amount of rain. The climate is the average weather over many years. Both the weather and the climate can change. Our planet is more than four billion years old. Its climate has been much hotter and much colder than the present day. Scientists say that there have been many things that have made the earth grow colder (glacials) and warmer (interglacials) at different times. Some things that have made the earth’s climate change over the years are: The Shape of the Earth’s Orbit around the Sun, The Earth’s Tilt and the Earth’s Wobble. Also volcanic eruptions can make the Earth grow warmer. A thing that can make the Earth grow colder are Sunspots. Sunspots are colder than the rest of the Sun. The Little Ice Age (1250-1850), may have been caused by more sunspot activity. What about the Greenhouse Effect? The Earth’s atmosphere has some gases called the Greenhouse gases which trap the Sun Rays and the Earth warmer. One Greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. Fossil Fuels, which include coal, petroleum and natural gas, were once animals and plants, which are made of carbon, so they release carbon dioxide when they burn. That’s why cars can make the Earth’s climate grow warmer. We can slow down the global warming by making small changes, like cycling or walking to school instead of going by car. Small changes can make a big difference when made by lots of people.
