Sylvia’s solution
In this video Sylvia demonstrates the solutions to this Week’s practical activity; the isoline drawing exercise in Step 3.11. We have also provided the solutions for the exercise on a …
Course: Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather
Weather forecast game
This week is your last chance to submit your prediction in the weather forecasting game, or to see if you can improve on your score from the previous week. If …
Rotating fluid dynamics
Now that you have seen the demonstration of the Coriolis effect in Week 1, let’s look at how this tank of water represents the atmosphere rotating with the earth. Pete …
Drawing isolines
In this activity you’ll put into practice some of the knowledge you have learnt so far. You’ll be drawing various isolines on the maps we’ve provided, which will further help …
Guide to weather symbols
The above is a typical simplified weather symbol from a chart of weather observations. Let’s look at some other symbols which you may come across when looking at weather reports. …
Global atmospheric and oceanic circulation
As we mentioned in Week 1 of the course, mid-latitude depressions are one way in which the Earth moves heat from the warm Tropics to the colder Poles. Together with …
The effect of people
Carbon Dioxide (C02) concentrations in the atmosphere, increased by over 40% from 278 ppm (parts per million) in 1750 to 400 ppm in 2015. Figure 1: The diagram above shows …
Changes over time
Let’s look at the Sun first, and specifically the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. There are three ways in which the Earth’s orbit changes over time, known as …
The atmosphere
The diagram in Figure 1 provides an illustration of the Earth’s Radiation budget. It shows the various ways energy or radiation can move through the climate system . Incoming solar …
The leaky bucket
How are the flow of energy we get from the Sun and the flow of energy the Earth loses to space, related to each other? A useful analogy is a …
The Sun and the Earth
What determines the climate of the Earth? Ultimately, the Sun, our nearest star. Solar energy is absorbed by the Earth’s surface, warming it and driving the weather patterns and therefore …
Introduction to anticyclones
So far, we have been looking at low pressure systems; cyclones. But what about high pressure systems; anticyclones? From a weather perspective anticyclones can be quite boring. Where the air …
Sylvia’s solution
How did you get on? In this video, Sylvia demonstrates the solution to the air mass exercise in the previous Step. You may have noticed the ‘geostrophic wind scale’ in …
Weather forecast game
We’d like you to have a go at trying to predict the weather in Reading, in our game hosted on the Royal Meteorological Society website. We’ve included a link to …
Understanding Weather Fronts and Balloon Launches
Weather fronts are boundaries between two different air masses, and tend to be the location of a lot of cloud and rain. When we look at weather maps there is …
The art of public speaking: How to give great speeches
We explore one of the most common human fears: public speaking. What steps can you …
Lockdown extension in the Philippines: How is education being affected?
In this article, we explore the current situation of the Philippines in lockdown, how communities …62,000 reception-age pupils in England to take part in early language programme
NUFFIELD EARLY LANGUAGE INTERVENTION SCALED UP AS AN IMPORTANT RESPONSE TO IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC …
A step-by-step guide on how to write a business plan
We take a close look at what you need to include in a business plan, …