National Science Children’s Congress

Weather , Climate & Agriculture

Topic

Weather & Climate Definitions• Weather- “the state of the atmosphere

with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness”.

• Climate – “the average course or condition of the weather at a place usually over a period of years as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation”

• Weather & Climate Definitions

Higher pressure than what is normal for that altitude. What do you notice about the air in this region? Brings clear skies and fair weather.

The sinking cold air warms as it does so and becomes stable.

High Pressure

High Pressure

Low Pressure

• A low pressure region (depression

or cyclone) is caused by rising air.• Clouds, rain, and very strong winds

occur.• Why do you think that is?

Creating a Cloud

• Watch the cloud demonstration:

• What were the key ingredients in creating the cloud?

• How is this representative of what might take place in the atmosphere?

Cloud Types

Temperature & Humidity

• Temperature - Air higher in pressure is usually cooler air and air lower in pressure is usually warmer air.

• What happens when the two meet?• Humidity - How much water is in the air over

how much water could fit in the air (right before the water begins to condense out of the air).

• Dew point - Temperature at which the moisture saturates the air is the dew point.

Different types of climate and weather

Wind•  Caused by the earth’s surface

being heated unevenly by the sun.

• Why would the earth’s surface heat unevenly?

• How do you think this causes the wind?

Thunderstorms

• What type of cloud causes these?

• Consists of gusty winds, heavy rain and hail.

• Can result in a tornado

Lightning

• What did you observe in all the lightning demonstrations? How does this suggest lightning occurs?

• Interesting Fact: More people are killed by lightning per year than in tornadoes!!!

Atmosphere

• Troposphere - Most of the weather occurs.

• Stratosphere - 19% of the atmosphere’s gases are here; ozone layer is here

• Mesosphere - Most meteorites burn up here.

• Thermosphere - High energy rays from the sun are absorbed; hottest layer.  

• Exosphere - Molecules from atmosphere escape into space; satellites orbit here.

OUR CHANGING

CLIMATE

Greenhouse Gases

• Greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons.

• Are they all bad? We will find out through the lab.

• Retain the heat through a process called the Greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse Effect

What is Climate Change?

Climate change is the change in our weather patterns that are occurring because of an increase in the earth's average temperature.

It is also known as global warming.

Climate change may result from both natural and human causes though the human causes appear to be increasingly responsible for climate change over the past few decades.

Research Project on Climate Change undertaken by students of IX A

Students of Class IX A undertook a research project to study the climate change in Bangalore, the specific areas of change, the reasons for this change, its implications as well as strategies to deal with Climate change.

Data was gathered via interviews with senior citizens arranged by the local residents association as well as with officials from the Meteorological Department.

Key Research Findings

• The city’s monthly mean maximum temperature has been steadily on the rise. It has increased by two to three degree Celsius since 1960. The highest maximum temperature in any given month has similarly risen by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius over the few decades.

• March and April, Bangalore's hottest months, are only getting hotter.

Key Research Findings

• Over the last 20 years, the temperatures went beyond 36.5 degrees Celsius on over nine occasions, as opposed to only four such years in the two preceding decades starting 1967.

• Rains in Bangalore have also turned unpredictable. The months of September &October are when the city receives the highest rainfall in the year, about 195 mm and 180 mm respectively on an average. However in recent years Bangalore received only approximately 45.3 mm rain in September.

Key Research Findings• Bangalore-The Urban Heat Island The Centre's recording stations are placed in two different

locations in the city, one in the centre and the other near the airport. The readings of these two thermometers are always 1 or 2 degrees different, with the one in the city centre recording higher temperatures consistently.

This is a classic example of the "urban heat island" effect, caused because Bangalore's green cover is being replaced by concrete structures that absorb solar radiation very rapidly.“

• Vehicular pollution, with carbon dioxide and other green house gases that it generates, also has a big role to play. Approximately 1.5 lakh to two lakh vehicles are added to the city roads every year. Carbon dioxide emissions trap heat, and this impacts climate.

•  

•  

Global Facts on Climate Change• 1990s was the warmest decade in the last

millennium.• 1998 was the warmest year.• Snow cover is down 10% in the last 40 years.• Arctic summer sea ice is likely to disappear in

second half of century.• Carbon Dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere

have increased by 30% in the last 200 years alone.

• Global temperature changes by the end of the century could be as high as 6.4C.

• Sea levels around the world are likely to rise by 28-43cm by the end of the century.

Strategies to combat Climate Change• Walk or bike instead of driving a car• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs as these energy-

efficient • Reduce heating and air-conditioning in your homes• Use car pools whenever possible• Buy local and seasonal produce • Put a lid on vessels when cooking• Turn off all electrical appliances instead of putting them on

standby when not in use• Unplug electrical appliances when fully charged• Keep the opening of fridge and freezer doors to the

minimum• Use pressure cooker s as much as possible

RENEW, RECYCLE, REUSE

•  

Some negative effects of Climate Change

• In Asia alone more than a billion people will be affected by water shortage by 2050.

• Changes to India's annual monsoon are expected to result in severe droughts and intense flooding in parts of India.

• With more than 60% of agriculture dependent on rain-fed crops, even modest alteration in the intensity, frequency and timing of rainfall should cause a large negative impact on food production.

• Increase in water borne diseases such as cholera and hepatitis, as well as diseases carried by insects such as malaria.

• Climate change is expected to contribute to air quality problems and respiratory disorders will increase due to warming-induced increases in the frequency of smog.

YOU HAVE A CHOICE

You can choose to

SAVE THE EARTHTake a pledge today to adopt the

strategies to reduce climate change

and let’s all join in the effort to

make the

earth smile again

Agriculture:

Deliberate modification of a portion of earth’s surface through cultivation of plants or raising animals

To overcome these problems

Agriculture is must..

Invention of agriculture

Accident and deliberate experiment

Two types of cultivation:Vegetative planting: cloning from existing plantsSeed agriculture: came later, planting of seeds, practiced by most farmers today

Classifying agricultural regions

• Difference between LDCs (subsistence) and MDCs (commercial)

• 1. Subsistence agriculture: growing food for consumption by farmer’s family

• 2. Commercial agriculture: growing food for sale off the farm (machinery and technology)

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Subsistence

Commercial

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urban expansion

II. Agriculture in LDCs

• Shifting cultivation

– Humid low-latitude/tropical zones (high temp and rainfall), low population density

– 2 types• Slash-and-burn: clearing land by cutting vegetation and

burning debris (tropical zones)• Rotation: using a field for a few years, then leaving it fallow

for many years

Agribusiness includes processing, packaging, storing, distributing, and retailing; tractor manufacturing, fertilizer production, seed distribution…

Farmers are less than 2% of the US labor forceBut 20% of US labor works in food production and service

Many aspects of agribusiness are controlled by large corporations

Agribusiness

• Intensive subsistence agriculture

– Farmers must work more intensively to subsist on a parcel of land

– Farms are smaller, so more pressure for productivity – Practiced in densely populated areas (East, South,

and Southeast Asia)

– Wet rice dominant: mostly in river valleys and deltas, or in flat or terraced fields

– Wet rice not dominant: climate prevents farmers from growing wet rice in parts of Asia, where summer precipitation is low and winters are harsh

• Plantation farming

– A form of commercial agriculture in tropics and subtropics (Latin America, Africa, Asia)

– Mostly in LDCs, but many owned by people in MDCs, and most products for sale in MDCs

– Plantation: a large farm that specializes in one or two crops

– Crop rotation systems

• Farm split into fields, and each field planted on a planned cycle, often several years (1 year fallow and cycle is repeated)

• Different from shifting agriculture in LDCs because LDCs leave fields fallow for many years and productivity is lower

• 2-field crop rotation system (Northern Europe, 5th century)– Cereal grain planted in Field A for one year, Field B fallow

• 3-field system (8th century)– Field 1 planted with a winter cereal, Field 2 a spring cereal,

Field 3 left fallow

• 4-field system (NW Europe, 18th century)– First year: root crop in Field 1, cereal in Field 2, rest crop in

Field 3, and cereal in Field 4– Second year: cereal in Field 1, rest crop in 2, cereal in 3, and

root in 4

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Ashish KocharTanveer Singh Rathod Gautam

Made by:

Class: IX A