What this lesson teaches
I can tell weather from climate, name the main climate types, and describe the hazards each brings.
Syllabus K329, Topic 3.1, Key Question 1. What is weather and climate?
Make a guess
The same strong typhoon hits two coastal towns. One loses many lives, the other very few. What best explains the difference?
- One town was hit by stronger winds as the typhoon passed.
- How exposed and vulnerable each town's people are.
- One town is in a poorer country, and typhoons mainly kill people there.
- Deaths depend on luck, such as where the storm surge happened to strike.
Show the answer
How exposed and vulnerable each town's people are.
A hazard becomes a disaster when it meets people who are in its path and less able to cope, such as those in weak homes on a low coast.
A climatic hazard becomes a disaster when extreme weather meets people and places that are exposed and cannot cope.
A climatic hazard is extreme weather or climate that can harm people, property and nature. It becomes a disaster when it hits people who are exposed and vulnerable. Exposed means they are in the hazard's path. Vulnerable means they are less able to prepare, cope or recover, for example because they are old, poor or live in weak housing.
A heat wave is a long spell of unusually hot weather. The body struggles to cool down, especially at night, so older people and those with heart or lung disease are at most risk. Crops wilt, rivers warm and electricity demand rises for cooling.
A drought is a long period with much less rain than normal. Soil dries, crops fail and animals die, so food runs short and prices rise. Wells and rivers fall, so people may drink unsafe water. Poor farming families who depend on rain-fed crops suffer most.
A flood happens when water covers land that is usually dry. Very heavy or long rain can overflow rivers or overwhelm drains. Floods drown people, destroy homes, crops and roads, and spread waterborne disease. A tropical cyclone, also called a typhoon or hurricane, brings very strong winds and heavy rain. It also brings a storm surge, a rise in sea level that floods low coasts.
A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire in forest, bush or grassland. Heat and drought dry out plants, which then burn easily, and strong winds spread the fire fast. Wildfires destroy homes and habitats, kill animals and fill the air with smoke that harms health far away. In every case, describe the impact on people, the economy and the environment, and say who suffered most.
- Hazard or disaster
- A hazard becomes a disaster when exposed, vulnerable people cannot cope.
- Storm surge
- A rise in sea level pushed onto land by a tropical cyclone's winds and low pressure.
- Five climatic hazards
- Heat waves, droughts, floods, tropical cyclones and wildfires.
Step by step
Name the hazard and case
Say which hazard, where and when.
Explain the process
Show how the weather caused the damage.
Give impacts with figures
People, economy and environment, with a number.
Say who suffered most
Link the harm to exposure and vulnerability.
Real examples to use
Heat wave: Europe, summer 2003
A study of 16 countries found more than 70,000 extra deaths across Europe that summer. Most of those who died were elderly, many living alone in hot flats.
Drought: Somalia, 2010 to 2012
Failed rains and high food prices led to famine. A study for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and FEWS NET estimated about 258,000 deaths, half of them children under five.
Flood: Pakistan, 2022
Extreme monsoon rain flooded about a third of the country, killed about 1,700 people and affected 33 million.
Tropical cyclone: Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines, 2013
It was one of the strongest storms ever recorded at landfall. Its storm surge and winds killed over 6,000 people.
Wildfire: Australia's Black Summer, 2019 to 2020
After a record hot, dry year, bushfires killed 33 people directly and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. Nearly three billion animals were killed or displaced.
Worked example: Why the 2003 heat wave was so deadly
In summer 2003, Europe had weeks of extreme heat. More than 70,000 extra people died. The heat itself was the hazard. But most deaths were among elderly people, many living alone in flats that stayed hot at night. Their age, health and isolation made them vulnerable, which turned the hazard into a disaster.
Watch out for this
Only poor countries suffer disasters from climatic hazards.
Vulnerability matters everywhere. Europe's 2003 heat wave killed more than 70,000 people, mostly elderly, in some of the world's richest countries.
Check your understanding
Two towns get the same typhoon. Town A has more deaths. Which reason best explains this?
- Town A received the same warning, on the same day, as Town B did.
- Town A lies farther from the typhoon's path than Town B does.
- More of Town A's people live in weak homes on a low coast.
Show the answer
More of Town A's people live in weak homes on a low coast.
Yes. They are more exposed to the storm surge and less able to cope.