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CLIMATE

   Climate is the kind of weather an area has over a long period of time. Climate is not the same as weather. The weather can change from one day to the next. To study the climate of a place, you have to look at the weather over many years.
   The people who study climate look mainly at two important things. They look at the monthly temperature (how hot or cold the weather gets). They also look at moisture (how much rain and snow fall each year).
   What makes some places warmer than others? In general, the warmest parts of the world are near the equator. This is because the sun's rays are concentrated in these areas. The farther you go from the equator, the cooler it feels because the sun's rays are not as concentrated.
   Warm places tend to get the most rain. Warm air can absorb more moisture from the ocean and other bodies of water. When the air cools, the moisture falls again as rain. In very cold places such as the North and South poles, very little rain (or snow) ever falls. The air is too cold to absorb much moisture.
   The wind also affects the climate of a certain place. Wind is caused by the differences in air temperature from one place to another. Wind can cool a place. It can also bring rain.
   Mountains can affect climate too. For example, they can control the amount of rain an area gets. If the wind comes to a high mountain range, rain clouds are pushed up higher and higher. As the clouds rise, the air becomes cooler. The clouds cannot hold as much moisture. They drop the rain before they can get high enough to cross the mountains. So the areas on the other side of the mountain range never get much rain.
   The oceans also influence climate. In the summer, the heat from the sun doesn't heat the ocean as quickly as it heats the land. The land near the ocean stays cooler than land farther away. In the winter, the ocean doesn't cool as quickly as the land. It holds more of the summer's heat. So the areas near the ocean stay warmer.
   The climate of a place is very important. It has a great deal to do with what kinds of plants and animals will be found there. It also shapes the lives of the people who live there. The people of an area eat the kinds of foods that grow best in their climate. They wear the kinds of clothes and live in the kinds of houses that protect them from their climate. Everything they do―from the kinds of work they do to the way they travel from place to place―is shaped, in some degree, by climate.
   In the far north, for example in northern Canada and Alaska, the winters are long and cold. The people live in houses that hold heat, and they wear heavy clothes. They may have meat and fish to eat, but fresh vegetables and other kinds of plants are often not available.
   In the Sahara Desert in Africa, it is so dry all year round that little grows there. People travel from place to place to let their animals graze on what little grass they can find. They live in tents, which they carry with them. These tents and their loose, light clothing protect them from the sun and wind.