Question

On March 24, 2015, it was 17 °C (63 °F) and sunny at the Esperanza Base on the northern tip of Antarctica. On March 25, 2015, several centimeters of rain fell in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Use these two examples to explain the difference between weather and climate.

Write in 3 sentences in a 5th graders response

Answer 1

Weather is what happens in a specific place at a specific time, like the sunny 17 °C (63 °F) day at Esperanza Base in Antarctica or the rain that fell in the Atacama Desert. Climate, on the other hand, is the average weather over a long period in a certain area, like how Antarctica is usually very cold and the Atacama Desert is usually very dry. So, while weather can change daily, climate describes what to expect over many years!