How do weather and climate affect peoples' lives? Holidays in the Mediterranean

This lesson considered:

- how the Meditteranean climate differs from the UK climate

- why British tourists are attracted to the Med

- how the climate affects different holiday types

The vast majority of overseas holidays taken by UK residents are in EU Europe. The graph shows the percentage of outbound visitors to visit the top 10 destinations in 2003.

UK residents made a record 41.2 million holiday trips in 2003. This was 3 per cent more than in 2002 and was a continuation of the rise in overseas holidays over the last three decades from 6.7 million in 1971. About half (47 per cent) of the holiday trips abroad in 2003 were package holidays. Large numbers of families travel south during the school holidays, visiting the islands and mainland resorts of the Mediterranean. We considered the reasons for this...

1. Cost - flights to Mediterranean resorts are cheap.

2. Language - many British children are taught European languages at school; the vast majority of Europeans speak enough English to be able to comunicate with tourists.

3. Flight times - flights times are short, for example just 3 hours to Rome.

4. Low cost airlines - many new low-cost airlines have been established, and they are in competition with each other so bargain flights are available!

5. Internet bookings - widespread use of the internet has made it easier (and cheaper) to book holidays.

6. Weather and climate - many travel agents market the Mediterranean resorts as being in guaranteed sunshine. Is this the reality?

These graphs show the average temperatures in the UK and Spain's Costa Blanca, and the average number of hours of sunshine. To what extent do you think UK travel agents are justified in using the slogan 'Come to Benidorm for your winter break!'. How does the Mediterranean climate differ from the UK climate?

If you were on holiday in Benidorm in the summer, what activities might you take part in? Sunbathing? Skiing? Look at the climate graphs for ideas! How would the activities for a family holidaying in Benidorm be different to those for a family holidaying in Scarborough?

How do weather and climate affect people's lives?

Weather and climate can have a major effect on people's lives, for example:

Farming - there is a direct link between the type of agriculture and climate. For example, Eastern England has a drier, warmer, sunnier climate than the west. Arable crops tend to be grown in the east, and pastoral farming dominates in the west.

Housing - in particuarly hot climates, buildings may be painted white to reflect the heat. Houses in cold climates are often built on stilts to insulate them from the freezing ground.

Clothing - there is an obvious link between clothing and climate! Why would you wear a snowsuit rather than a bikini if you visited the Arctic?

Sport and leisure opportunities - remember the Jamaican bobsled team of Cool Runnings? They weren't too successful! Why might this be?



Sources of energy - particularly windy areas have plenty of potential for wind farms.

Tourism - the next post considers this in more detail.

Water supply - most of the UKs population live in the south and east, which is relatively dry. Water has to be transferred from reservoirs in the wetter west.

Snow and Ice - in areas where snow and ice are rare, even a small snowfall can lead to chaos on the roads. Schools may even be closed for the day!

Anticyclone case study - Europe, Summer 2003

Thanks to Miss Wieczorek for her help in preparing the resources for this lesson.

The Summer 2007 exam paper required candidiates to write a case study about a high pressure weather system. The European anticyclone of Summer 2003 would be a great example to use in a question like this (remember: anticyclones are areas of high pressure).

This is the 2007 exam question. Make sure that you can answer in detail - check the previous post to see how the examiner marks case study answers.

A weather event caused by high pressure

(i) Name and locate a weather event that has been caused by a high pressure system.
(ii) Describe the weather event.
(iii) Explain how the weather event affected people and the environment.

These questions could also be answered using the Summer 2003 anticyclone in Europe:

A weather event (June 2001)

(i) Name a weather event you have studied.
(ii) Describe how the weather event affected different groups of people and the environment.
(iii) Explain why the weather event took place.

A weather event caused by a high or low pressure weather system (June 2003)

(i) Name a location where you have studied a weather event.
(ii) State whether the weather event was caused by a high or low pressure system.
(iii) Describe how the weather event affected people and the environment.
(iv) Explain what caused the weather event (use diagrams if you wish).

OK, now for the lesson materials - the PowerPoint and the MindMap:

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Case study questions

On the Higher Tier paper, the case study is marked like this:

Level 1 (1-2 marks) Provides simple description or explanation only.
Level 2 (3-4 marks) Provides an account in which description is accompanied by some explanation. Choice of case study applied reasonably well.
Level 3 (5-6 marks) Names an appropriate example. Provides a balanced account with accurate descriptive points and detailed explanation. Appropriate choice of case study applied well.
Level 4 (7-8 marks) Names an appropriate example. Provides a balanced account which includes specific detailed description and specific detailed explanation. Appropriate choice of case study applied very well.



1. The overall quality of the geographical response is judged rather than the ability to make continuous points.
2. The higher levels and marks can be accessed by knowledge and understanding of greater accuracy and specificity e.g. referring to the advantage of increased access for deliveries by locating a shopping centre next to Junction 21 of the M1 motorway rather than just giving a reason as being next to a motorway.
3. If a candidate chooses to use as their case study any material taken directly from the examination paper resources, marks will only be credited for knowledge and understanding that could not have been taken directly from the examination paper.
4. It is possible to gain all the marks by drawing fully annotated sketch maps and/or diagrams for any case study. Sketch maps need to contain some explanatory labels to get beyond level 1; descriptive labels alone do not meet the explanation criteria.
5. To ensure coverage of syllabus breadth it is sometimes necessary to include an exclusion clause in the question e.g. from an MEDC, outside the UK or to specify a choice where another response is not wanted e.g. a weather event (i.e. not climate). In order to ensure that good understanding of Key Ideas and Questions being examined from that part of the Unit in that question receive some credit, candidates may still be awarded up to a maximum of half marks on each case study where the choice is inappropriate but related. This also applies if a relevant case study is discussed but not clearly named or identified where requested.

Anticyclones

This image shows an anticyclone over Spain on 31st January 1999. Notice how the sky is clear - this is a defining feature of an anticyclone.

Anticyclones are areas of high pressure. They bring settled weather. If an anticyclone is sitting over the UK in the summer, it's an ideal opportunity to head for the beach!

In an anticyclone, air descends and pressure increases. This brings very light winds (which blow outwards from the centre in a clockwise motion), clear skies and dry conditions (because the air is descending and warming up, there are no clouds and no rain).

Summer Anticyclones

Summer anticyclones bring hot and sunny weather due to there being clear skies (because of the descending air). The days are long and the sun high in the sky, which gives plenty of opportunity for the land to be heated up. These conditions could therefore lead to convectional rainfall occurring.

Winter anticyclones

Winter anticyclones bring clear days too. However the sun is low in the sky and the days are short, meaning you get cool, crisp days. Clear skies on a winter’s night will allow frost to form. The land quickly loses heat during the night, as there is no cloud cover to act as insulation. The rapidly cooling ground cools and condenses any moisture in the air above it, forming droplets of ice when the temperature falls below freezing. This is frost.
Fogs are also caused by clear winter nights. The ground loses heat. This cools the air above it causing moisture to condensate around dust particles in the layer of air closest to the ground surface. This is fog.

Thanks to YouTube user BlackDollarBills for this video about the features of summer and winter anticyclones:



This video will help you to remember the key features of anticylcones.

You should now be able to complete the worksheet about the differences between depressions and anticyclones. Click on the image to be taken to the task.

The Great Gale of the Millennium - Lothar and Martin - 25-28 December 1999

We studied the Great Gale as an alternative case study of the effects of a low pressure system.



Again, you need to be able to recall specific detail about the storms. Most exam questions focus on effects on both people and environment - it would be a good idea to organise your notes under these two headings. The PowerPoint we used in the lesson is reproduced below - you should use it to add detail to your notes.

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Depression case study - The Great Storm of October 1987

On Paper 1/2, each question ends with a case study. This is worth 5 marks on the Foundation Tier paper and 8 marks on the Higher Tier paper. To score well, you need to include specific detail in your answer.



Questions about low pressure weather systems are common in the exam. You should use the case study handout sheets and the YouTube clips to add to your notes and then have a go at writing an answer to one of the following questions. In the exam, you will have about 8-10 minutes to write your case study.

A weather event (June 2001)

(i) Name a weather event you have studied
(ii) Describe how the weather event affected different groups of people and the environment
(iii) Explain why the weather event took place

A weather event caused by a high or low pressure weather system (June 2003)

(i) Name a location where you have studied a weather event
(ii) State whether the weather event was caused by a high or low pressure system
(iii) Describe how the weather event affected people and the environment
(iv) Explain what caused the weather event (use diagrams if you wish)

A weather event caused by low pressure (June 2005)

(i) Name and locate a weather event that has been caused by a low pressure system
(ii) Describe the weather event
(iii) Explain how the weather event affected different groups of people and/or organisations













These clips are from broadcasts made for the 20th anniversary of the storm, in 2007:

Low pressure systems - depressions

You need to know:

- what a depression is
- how it forms
- what it looks like on a satellite image and a synoptic chart
- the type of weather it brings

REMEMBER: a depression is a low-pressure system (if you are feeling depressed, you are sometimes said to be feeling 'low').

A depression forms when cold polar air meets warm tropical air at a front. The less dense warm air starts to rise over the colder air, and this starts to lower the air pressure. Depressions are common over the UK as we are on the boundary between the warm and cold air masses. They move from west to east across the UK, bringing rainy weather with them. The air in a depression blows anti-clockwise and upwards.

The boundary between the two masses is called a front. There are 2 fronts in a typical depression:

1. the warm front - this passes first, and has the warm air behind it (i.e. it is the front of the warm air). It is where the advancing warm air is forced to rise over the cold air

2. the cold front - this follows, and has the cold air behind it (i.e. it is the front of the cold air). This is where the advancing cold air undercuts the warm air in front of it.

On a weather map, the warm front is shown as red semi-circles and the cold front as blue triangles. To remember this, think about the colour on bathtaps (cold=blue, red=hot) and the shape of a lady's chest in hot/cold weather! The isobars are closely spaced, indicating strong winds, and the numbers decrease to a low in the centre. An occluded front is shown by alternating blue triangles and red semicircles.

The sequence of a depression

We used a mnemonic to remember this:

Chesterton Army Went Fighting With Sticks, Coleridge Fled Cowardly Away

which stands for:

Cold Air, Warm Front, Warm Sector, Cold Front, Cold Air

This mnemonic can also be useful when remembering the pattern of weather that a depression brings. This is shown in the PowerPoint below.

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In class, we used Mr Cassidy's fantastic Postman Pat movie and PowerPoint to help us with the depressions topic. You can download the movie and presentation from here. It's a huge download (over 50mb) so may take a while - but it's definitely worth it!

We also used the interactive files from the NGFL in class. You can work through them here.

We didn't make out own movie about the passage of a depression, but if we had it would probably have turned out something like this one from Teale Green school.

What factors affect temperature?

You should be able to explain a variety of factors that affect temperature on a global scale, including:

- latitude (distance from the equator)
- altitude (height)
- continentality (distance from the sea)
- prevailing winds and ocean currents

Latitude

Latitude is the main factor affecting global climate - the further you go from the equator, the cooler it gets (all other factors remaining constant). This is because the earth in curved which means that the sun's energy is more concentrated at the equator. This, and the thinner atmosphere at the equator, means that the earth gets hotter here.

Altitude

Temperatures decrease by 1 degree celsius for every 100 metres increase in altitude. Mountainous areas are therefore cooler.

Continentality (distance from the sea)

The sea is cooler than the land in summer, but warmer in winter. This is because it takes the sea a long time to heat up, but it is slower to cool down than land.

Prevailing winds and ocean currents

The prevailing wind is the direction that the wind blows from most often. Winds take on the characteristics of their source region. Our climate in the UK would be much colder if the prevailing wind came from the north (the Arctic).

Ocean currents can be warm or cold, and they affect the temperature of coastal areas. The warm North Atlantic Drift keeps the British Isles warm in winter.

For a really clear summary of the main factors affecting global temperatures, download and read Robert Scott's essay. Robert wrote this essay when he was in Year 8!