Climate and Climatograms

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given place and time. For example, right now, the temperature in Chicago, Illinois may be 56°F with rain.

Climate is the average condition of the atmosphere (such as temperature or precipitation) over a long period of time. For example, the average temperature over the past 40 years for the month of February may be 32°F. The average precipitation is 2.8 inches.

Climate is the average of weather conditions in a place. AND, Just as the weather differs from day to day, the climate differs from place to place. Seattle, WA Houston, TX Phoenix, AZ Barrow, AK Cool Warm Hot Cold Moist Moist Dry Dry

One of the simplest ways to demonstrate a place’s climate is to use a “Climograph” or “climatograph”. Although, Climograph does not provide complete information, it does portray two of the most important element of climate precipitation and temperature. Precipitation includes all forms of moisture falling to the surface of the earth. (Examples: rain, sleet, snow, hail) Temperature is how warm or cool the air is outside.

Number 1: represents the type of biome Number 2: where the temperature and precipitation were measured. Number 3: A scale used to indicate inches of precipitation. Number 4: Shows the months of the year. The letters J, F, M stands for January, February, and March etc. Number 5: Shows the temperature scale in degrees Fahrenheit. Number 6: A bar graph showing the average precipitation for each month. In this example, the average total precipitation is about 1 inch in January and nearly 4 inch in August during the year. Number 7: A line graph showing monthly temperature during the year. In this example, the lowest temperature is about -5 degree Fahrenheit in January and the highest is about 65 degree Fahrenheit in July. * In this activity, mean temperature/precipitation is the same as average temperature/precipitation. Mean=Average

Climate Data for Chongqing, China J F M A S O N D Prec (in) 2.1 2.9 3.4 2.4 3.3 6.8 7.8 6.6 6.5 3.1 Temp (F) 60 61.9 66.7 71.4 77.2 81.1 82.4 81 74.8 67.5 Climate Data for Chongqing, China