1. Climatographs for the City of Toronto – THEN vs. NOW

2. scales are the same for each graph
title on each graph
scales are the same for each graph
axis labels and units
legend for each graph
precipitation (bar)
primary y-axis
temperature (dots)
secondary y-axis

3. Question #7
Study each climatograph.
Write a few sentences describing the data, such as monthly data changes and if you think the temperature and precipitation are related.

4. Average monthly temperatures are lower (cooler) for the year.
average yearly precipitation mm
average yearly temperature 6.6 degrees
(19 years)
The temperature (line graph) is lowest in February, rises to a maximum in July and then falls back .
Average monthly temperatures are lower (cooler) for the year.
The precipitation (bar graph) rises irregularly and then declines irregularly. More precipitation in spring and summer.
Average annual precipitation mm.

5. The temperature is lowest in January .(line graph)
average yearly precipitation mm
average yearly temperature 9.2 degrees
(19 years)
The temperature is lowest in January .(line graph)
Average monthly temperatures are slightly higher for the year
The precipitation is fairly constant all year round. (bar graph)
Average annual precipitation mm.

6. Question #8
Compare the two climatographs, and describe any differences you observe between them. Explain any differences.

7. Spring and summer temperatures are now several degrees warmer.
average yearly precipitation mm
average yearly temperature 9.2 degrees
average yearly precipitation mm
average yearly temperature 6.6 degrees
There appears to be more precipitation in the winter now compared to in the 1800’s.
Spring and summer temperatures are now several degrees warmer.
The temperature now is lowest in January vs. back then it was lowest in February.
Overall, the temperatures are generally higher (9.2C) now and there is also more precipitation in total (69.67 mm) .

8. Question #9
What are the advantages of using spreadsheet software over graphing by hand?

9. Spreadsheets are faster, and once the data has been entered, a variety of different representations may be viewed.

10. Question #10
What factors could have affected the climate between 1840 and now?

11. Temperature: The yearly temperature trend is not much different.
(temp. starts low gradually rising to a peak and then declining)
The average monthly temperatures are just slightly higher than they use to be making it warmer.

12. Why ?
Our modern cities have modern equipment making it warmer than it use to be.
Cars

13. Powerplants

15. People

16. Industry

17. Cities create a lot of pollution and which traps heat.

18. Precipitation:
Because the average temperatures are slightly warmer, there is more evaporation.
More evaporation means more precipitation and storms in some areas.
773 mm then vs mm now
There is much more precipitation in February.

21. Question #11
Would you feel confident making a statement about climate change in Toronto based on this information. If you answered “yes”, why and what would the statement be? If you answered “no”, why not ?

22. No. This data does not allow us to draw a firm conclusion about climate change in general.
This is a very small data set pertaining to one location.
Much more complete information is needed over a longer time span before a solid conclusion can be drawn.
For example, this data is for the city of Toronto.
Data for non-cities should be examined.
(compare data for Rural areas vs. Urban areas)

23. Also the climate data graphed was for the period 1971-2000.
Most of this time period was before many of the effects of climate were noticed.

24. Question #12
Why would you construct climatographs for data averaged over a number of years instead of just an individual year?

25. Calculating the average temperature and precipitation over multiple years helps to eliminate the unique weather effects that is observed over single year.
Averages provides a better measure of the climate in a certain area.