Intro Quiz: Is the UK's weather becoming more extreme?

Video: Is the UK's weather becoming more extreme?

﻿Hi everyone. It's Miss Dubas here and welcome to lesson nine of the Climatic Hazards unit. All about extreme weather in the UK. Please make sure that you've got a pen, a piece of paper, a different colour pen to mark with, and also a calculator. Make sure that you're working somewhere free of destruction, nice and quiet so that you're able to focus on your work and your learning. And when you're ready, we can get started. So the title of today's lesson is, "Is the UK's weather becoming more extreme?" And in this lesson, we'll think about what extreme weather actually means. And we'll look at some examples of extreme weather events in the UK and consider some of their effects. We'll then consider if the UK's weather is becoming more extreme. What evidence do we have for this? And we'll finish off the lesson by looking at some fieldwork skills. So, because we're going to be referring to the term "Extreme weather" throughout our lesson today, we need to make sure we understand what the word weather actually means and how that's different from climate. So, first of all then what is the difference between climate and weather? So what I would like you to do in just a moment is to pause the video and write down for me what you think the word climate means and what you think the word weather means. Please, don't worry if you're not sure, because we'll make sure that we mark our work after to make sure that we've got the correct definitions in place. So please pause the video to write down the definition of climate and the definition of weather, and then resume the video when you are ready to mark your work. Okay. So we're now ready to mark our work. So make sure that you have a different colour pen so that you're able to do this. So let's think about the word climate to begin with. So climate is the longterm state of the atmosphere over months to years. So how's that different from weather? The term weather is the short term state of the atmosphere. So days to weeks. So for example, is it going to be sunny today? Maybe we'll have a bit of cloud and maybe a bit of drizzle, or maybe we're going to experience a thunderstorm. So weather is that short term state of the atmosphere, days to weeks. So now we know what the term weather means. Let's consider what is meant by Extreme Weather. So extreme weather usually follows these three rules. It's unusual. So for example, experiencing rainfall far higher than the average. Extreme weather can also be unseasonal. So for example, experiencing snow in the summer or experiencing much warmer temperatures in the winter. An extreme weather is usually severe. So for example, causing significant impacts or effects for people and the environment. So just to check that we've understood what we've done so far, we're going to complete a couple of short activities. So below are two definitions. So option one, the short term state of the atmosphere, days to weeks, and option two, the longterm state of the atmosphere, months to years. Which defines weather and which defines climate? So is option one weather or climate? and is option two weather or climate? So please pause the video to make your decision and then resume when you are ready to mark your work. So we're now ready to mark your work. So option one was weather and option two was climate. So make sure that you marked your work using your different coloured pen. Okay. So the second short activity that we're going to do is this, which of these words best describes extreme weather? So you have six options here. So you've got unseasonal, usual, severe, seasonal, unusual and mild. Please, can you select which of these words you think best describes extreme weather? You may decide to choose more than one word. So please pause the video to complete your task and then resume when you are ready, so you can mark your work. So did you get it, how did you get on? So the three words that would describe extreme weather are unseasonal, severe and unusual. How did you get on? So we're now going to consider some examples of the UK's extreme weather. So I'm going to share with you some specific examples and we're going to consider some of their effects. Just remember as we review this, think about the three key words. So unusual, severe, unseasonal. Which of those categories do these events fall into? So the first type of extreme weather that the UK experiences is strong winds and sometimes even tornadoes. So for example, Storm Ali in 2018, brought 100Mph winds to the UK causing sadly two deaths. This was really quite severe. Another example in Birmingham, 2005 was a tornado, 19 were injured and 140 million pounds worth of damage was caused. That again was really quite severe and actually quite unusual. The next type of extreme weather that we experience in the UK is heavy rain. And an example of this is Boscastle, 2004. And you can see an image of the village on your screen. A month's worth of rain fell in two hours. This caused flooding, a loss of 50 cars, damage to homes and businesses, worry and anxiety, a huge impact on tourism and lots of damage to habitats. And you can see the tree in the image on the screen. This was really quite an unusual event and it really was quite severe and quite unseasonal as it took place in August. Another type of extreme weather event that we experience in the UK is linked to snow and ice. And an example of this is the Beast from the East in 2018. 50 centimetres of snow was experienced during this particular event, temperatures fell as low as -12 degrees Celsius, schools closed, transport was disrupted. There were over 8,000 collisions on our roads and businesses were significantly affected. This was a very severe event causing lots of disruption, The next type of extreme weather event that we experience within the UK are thunderstorms. And an example of this is in July, 2014, where many thunderstorms were experienced within Southern and Central England, power cuts were experienced and also delayed flights. Again, really quite severe. And lastly, another type of extreme weather event that we experience in the UK are heat waves. And an example of this is in 2018 through the months of June, July, and August. there was low rainfall, high temperatures were experienced. So for example, 35.3 degrees Celsius in Kent, drought, hosepipe bans were put in place, wildfires were experienced, for example, at Saddleworth Moor and even caused roads to melt in some places. And you can see on the image on the screen that a lot of fields are experiencing this drought and therefore that influenced or affected crops and food supplies. And again, a really quite severe event. So before we move forward, let's just reflect on those extreme weather events again. So on the screen, you will see a table. In the table is a list of each weather event that we've just reviewed and a list of five facts. And at the moment the weather event and the facts don't match up. So what I would like you to do is to pause the video and match the extreme weather event to the fact. Once you've done that, please resume the video so that we can mark your work. So we're ready to mark your work. So make sure that you've got a different colour pen and let's just check that you've got the answers correct. Please give yourself a tick if you have got it correct, and make any corrections, if you need to. So Storm Ali 2018, 100Mph winds. Boscastle Floods 2004, one month's rain in two hours. Thunderstorms, July 2014, power cuts. The Beast from the East 2018, 50 centimetres of snow and the Heatwave 2018, 35.3 degrees Celsius in Kent. So please make sure that you've matched the correct event to the correct fact. How did you get on? So let's now consider why these extreme weather events are so significant to the UK? So we've looked at some examples of strong winds, heavy rainfall, snow an ice, thunderstorms and heatwaves. And we've mentioned some of the effects or the impacts that these types of weather events cause for us in the UK. But we're going to think about that in a little bit more depth. So I would like you to do is to copy and complete the table that you see on the screen with your ideas. So how do each of these types of events affect people and their lives that would be social effects, but also how do these events affect the economy or wealth within the UK? And these would be economic effects. So copy and complete the table and include as many ideas as you can. If you would like to review part of the video again, where we've looked at each of the different specific examples to get some ideas that is absolutely fine. But you can also use your own knowledge. So please pause the video and complete the table and then resume once you are finished. So it's now time to mark your work. So make sure that you have a different colour pen in order for you to do this. So let's review some of the, the examples, some of the ideas that you might have included. Now notice that I've only included in my table one example, and you might have many more than me. So let's start with strong winds. So a social effect could be a disruption to transport. That obviously means that could affect people's lives because it may mean they can't get to places that they need to get to. So whether that be school or work. And economic effect of strong winds could be, it may be really costly to repair damage caused by the strong winds. The heavy rainfall, a social effect could be to do with flooding. Now, flooding might damage people's houses and it might actually damage some of their belongings. And this may cause stress and worry for people. They may have to leave their homes for a temporary period of time. And economic effects could be linked to loss of crops. If flooding occurs, farmers may find that field submerged and therefore they may get their crops damaged, and that means they'll lose income from those crops. For snow and ice, a social effects could be injuries. People might slip or fall. An economic effect of snow and ice might be that businesses remain closed. Maybe people can't access their business due to issues to do with snow and ice on the roads. That will cause them to lose income. Thunderstorms may cause social event that effects for example deaths. Thunderstorms might also cause economic effects. So for example, lightning might damage housing and then that's very costly to repair. Heatwaves can also cause social effects. So for example, making people feel quite unwell through something like heatstroke. Heat waves can also cause economic effects. So it might disrupt transport. So for example, by melting roads or causing railways to buckle, and this might affect the delivery of goods from one place to another. However, I have put a little star next to the very last effect here. Next to increased tourism because heat waves or a period of warm weather might actually increase tourism to different areas and that might increase the income to those areas. So that actually might be a positive effect of this particular extreme weather event. So make sure that you've added in any ideas that you're missing before you move on in the video. So now that we've considered different types of extreme weather events in the UK, So looking at some examples and we've thought about the social and economic effects that extreme weather could have in the UK, let's consider this question, is the UK's weather becoming more extreme, to more unusual, more unseasonal and perhaps more severe? So what evidence do we have to suggest that the UK's weather is becoming more extreme? I'm going to present five different ideas to you. So number one, the UK's 10 hottest years have been since 1990. Number two, the hottest recorded UK temperature, was recorded in 2019, 38.7 degrees Celsius. And this is in Cambridge. Number three, December, 2010 was the coldest month for over 100 years in the UK. Number four, December, 2015, was the wettest ever recorded month in the UK. And number five, flooding events are becoming more frequent. So there, are five pieces of evidence that could suggest to us that the UK is weather is becoming more extreme. So let's review that data now to see what we've just remembered. So what I would like you to do is pause the video in a moment, and I would like you to complete this activity. I'd like you to copy and complete the sentences and I'd like you to include whatever you think might be missing from the sentence. So what is the key thing that is missing from each of these sentences? So please pause the video and then resume when you are ready to mark your work. Okay, so we're now ready to mark our work. So please make sure that you've got a different colour pen so that you can check you've got the answers, correct. So this is how your sentences should read. Number one, the UK's 10 hottest years have been since 1990. Number two, the hottest recorded UK temperature was recorded in 2019, 38.7 degrees Celsius. Number three, December, 2010 was the coldest month for over 100 years in the UK. Number four, December, 2015 was the wettest ever recorded month in the UK. And number five, flooding events are becoming more frequent. So how did you get on? Give yourself a score out of five. So this evidence does appear to be quite compelling. So what can we conclude? Well, this does seem to suggest that the UK weather is becoming more extreme. However, we do have to take into consideration that the weather data we record has increased in accuracy over time. And therefore, maybe our past data is less accurate. And this might mean that our understanding of changes in the UK weather may not be completely understood. So it's just something that we have to bear in mind. So this lesson provides us with a good opportunity to quickly practise some fieldwork data analysis skills. So let's consider temperature data. So if I wanted to measure temperature as part of a study of weather, I would use a thermometer like the thermometer image that you see on the screen. The table contains temperature data collected once a day at midday for seven days. So what might you get asked to do with this data? So within your exam, you may get asked to work out the mean the mode, the range, and the median of sets of data. So we're just going to practise how you calculate the mean, the mode, the range, and the median, just using this temperature data. So to find out the mean you need to add together each number and divide the total by seven, which is the number of days. to calculate the mode, you're looking for the most common number. To calculate the range, you're looking to subtract the smallest number from the largest number and to calculate the median, you need to put the numbers in size order from smallest to largest, and then you are looking to find the middle number. So I'd like you to pause the video at this point, to work out the mean, the mode, range and the median of this set of temperature data, and then resume the video when you are ready to mark your work. So it's now time to mark your work. So the mean should be 20.1 degree Celsius to one decimal place. The mode should be 23 degrees Celsius. The range should be 11 degrees Celsius and the median should be 22 degrees Celsius. Make sure that you do have those units on the end of your numbers. So, this is the end of our lesson today on whether the UK's weather it's becoming more extreme. We've considered what sort of extreme events do take place in the UK and what sorts of effects they may have. And we've reviewed some evidence that does suggest that our weather maybe becoming more extreme, but we're remembering that our data from the past may not be as accurate and therefore may not be as reliable. And therefore we have to make sure that when we consider this question, about whether the UK's weather is becoming more extreme, that we make sure we don't lose sight of that. So please make sure that you complete your exit quiz to ensure you've understood the key points from today, and then make sure that you perhaps summarise maybe three key ideas that you've learned from the lesson today. Thank you very much for joining me. Take care.

Exit Quiz: Is the UK's weather becoming more extreme?

Completed: Is the UK's weather becoming more extreme?

In this lesson, we will be examining evidence to suggest that the UK's weather is becoming more extreme.

Geography

Is the UK's weather becoming more extreme?

Introductory Quiz

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Final Quiz

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