11 Climatic Changes

11'1 Weather

T he following is a weather forecast telecast on a particular day in

November.

"Showers will occur in Western and

Eastern provinces. Thunder showers
will occur in Western, Southern and
Sabaragamuwa provinces during the
evening. There will be brief strong
winds with thunder showers. The
Meteorological Department requests
the people to take necessary steps
to prevent from damages caused by
thunder."
Fig 11.1 Telecasting weather reports

Assignment 11.1
You may have heard weather reports as above, in different media.
Listen to a weather forecast in a particular channel for a week
and record the details.
You can also get information about the day’s weather from the
following web address of the Meteorological Department www.
meteo.gov.lk

The following table shows some details of weather that a grade 6 student
recorded.

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 Date City Rainfall mm Average temperature 0
C Humidity ]
Anuradhapura 1.8 27.8 80
Badulla 0.0 30.1 50
Batticaloa 0.0 32.4 85
2013.09.17
Colombo 0.9 28.0 80
Galle 0.3 27.5 85
Hambanthota 0.6 28.9 75
Anuradhapura 0.0 26.4 85
Badulla 0.0 21.0 90
2013.09.18 Batticaloa 0.0 26.6 85
Colombo 8.4 25.2 90
Galle 18.0 26.6 95
Hambanthota 47.6 26.2 90
Table 11.1
(Humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapour in the environment)
Study the above table and answer the given questions.
1' What is the unit used to measure the rain fall?
2' What is the unit used to measure the temperature?
3' Which city recorded the highest rainfall on 17.09.2013?
4' Which city recorded the highest temperature on 17.09.2013?
5' Which city recorded the highest difference in the rainfall from
17.09.2013 to 18.09.2013 ?
6' Which city recorded the highest difference in temperature from
17.09.2013 to 18.09.2013 ?
7' Which city recorded the lowest humidity on 17.09.2013?
8' What was the humidity in that city on 18.09.2013?
The factors that determine the weather are:-
² Rainfall ² Temperature
² Humidity ² The speed and the direction of the wind
These factors change very often. So, the word weather can be defined
as follows:-
Weather is an atmospheric conditions at a specified
place during a short time period.

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 11'2 Climate
The Meteorological Department collects the daily weather reports
of certain cities in Sri Lanka. The following table shows some data
prepared using the weather reports for 30 years.
Average daily temperature 0C Average annual rainfall
City
Maximum Minimum mm
Colombo 30.6 24.1 2519.7
Nuwara-Eliya 20.2 11.6 1709.2
Hambanthota 30.0 24.0 1045.0
Table 11.2
Study the above table and answer the given questions.
1' Which city has the highest average temperature?
2' Which city has the lowest average temperature?
3' Which city has the highest rainfall?
4' Which city has the lowest rainfall?
After studying the weather conditions of a certain area for a long
period of time (at least for 30 years) the climate of that area can
be decided.
Climate is the prevailing weather condition in an area for a long
time period.

11'3 Studying Data Related to Weather

The Meteorological Department keeps daily records about weather.
The following graph shows the rainfall in Colombo during the 12
months of a mm 400
350

particular year. 300

250
200
150
100
50
0
Jan Fab March Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Fig 11.2

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Study the graph and answer the following questions.
1' What is the month with the highest rainfall?
2' What was the rainfall?
3' What is the month with the lowest rainfall?

The following graph shows the average temperature in Colombo city
during the 12 months of a particular year.

Temprature
TmperatureoC
0C
32.5
32
31.5
31
30.5
30
29.5
29
n b ar r ay un ly g
Ja Fe Ap p ct v c
M M J Ju Au Se O No De

Fig 11.3
Study the graph and answer the following questions.
1'What is the month with the highest temperature?
2'What is the month with the lowest temperature?

11'4 Designing Apparatus to Measure Weather

Measuring the temperature

The temperature of the atmosphere is

a very important factor in determining
the weather conditions.The figure 11.4
shows a thermometer used to measure
the temperature in the atmosphere. Fig.11.4 A thermometer
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 If data about the weather is recorded continuously, the validity
becomes higher.

Assignment 11.2

Measure the temperature using a thermometer during different

times of the day. Prepare a table as follows.

Date Time Temperature (0C)

7.30 a.m.
9.30 a.m.
11.30 a.m.
1.30 p.m.
Table 11.3

The temperature changes from time to time during the day. The
following table shows some recordings taken by a grade 6 student using
this instrument from 7.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. on a particular day.

Date Time Temperature (0C)

2014-03-15 7.30 a.m. 25
2014-03-15 9.30 a.m. 29
2014-03-15 11.30 a.m. 30
2014-03-15 1.30 p.m. 32
Table 11.4
Temperature / 0C
0C

These data can be

shown in a graph.

7.30 a.m. 9.30 a.m. 11.30 a.m. 1.30 a.m. Time

Fig.11.5

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Through the above graph, we can understand that the temperature
changes from time to time even at a same place.

Measuring the rainfall

The rainfall is a very important factor in
determining the weather.
So, the rainfall during 24 hours, is measured
using a rain gauge. The data collecting centers
use standard rain gauges to measure rainfall.
You too can make a simple rain gauge and
measure the rainfall.
Fig. 11.6 A rain gauge
Activity 11.1
Let’s make a simple rain gauge
You will need :- A flat bottomed plastic bottle of one liter,
A tall glass with a ¼ of diameter of the bottle
Method (-
² Cut the plastic bottle as shown in figure (a).
² Place the removed upper part on the bottom part of the bottle as
shown in figure (b).
² Pour water up to a height of 1cm of the bottle.

Cut
here

(a) (b) (c)

Fig.11.6

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 ² Pour the water in the bottle to the glass.
² Paste a strip of paper on the glass.
'² Mark the level of water on the paper strip'
² Divide the height into 10 similar parts from the bottom of the
glass to the mark.
² One part denotes 1mm of rainfall.
² Keep the bottle with the funnel in an open area.
² Measure the amount of water collected in the bottle daily at 7.00
a.m. Use the glass to measure the amount of water. Record your
findings in a similar table given below.
² By pasting a numbered strip on the bottle in fig.(b), the rainfall
can be measured by the reading on it.
² If there is little rainfall, it can be measured by putting it to the
bottle in fig.(b) with the numbered strip.
Date Rainfall (mm)

The Meteorological Department forecasts daily weather. This weather

report includes the places of minimum and maximum temperature and the
places of maximum rainfall during the last 24 hours. The following table
shows some such records callected during several days.
Maximum temperature and Minimum temperature Maximum rainfall and
Date
the city and the city the city

2013.08.21 36.1 0C 12.8 0C 4.6 mm

Polonnaruwa Nuwara Eliya Neboda

2013.08.22 36.0 0C 13.8 0C 9.2 mm

Polonnaruwa Nuwara Eliya Kalutara

2013.08.23 36.4 C0
13.5 C
0
27.4 mm
Polonnaruwa Nuwara Eliya Guruluwana

2013.08.24 36.8 0C 13.1 0C 7.5 mm

Polonnaruwa Nuwara Eliya Hiniduma

2013.08.25 37.1 C
0
12.3 C
0
3.8 mm
Polonnaruwa Nuwara Eliya Baddegama
Table 11.5

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 Assignment 11.3
● Prepare a weather report using media reports on weather and
show it to your teacher.
● Sometimes there may be a place in your area that measures the
rainfall. Pay a visit to that place with your teacher and get an idea
of how rainfall is measured.

Measuring the speed and direction of wind

The speed and the direction of wind are very important factors in
determining the weather. An anemometer is used to measure the speed
of wind and a wind vane is used to find out the direction of the wind.

Fig. 11.8 A wind vane Fig.11.9 An anemometer

Activity 11.2
Let’s make a wind vane
You will need :- a piece of card board or a file cover, A long
pin, A pencil with an eraser, A plastic straw, Clay
Method :-
² Cut an arrow head of 5 cm and the back of arrow of 7 cm.
² Have a cut of 1cm on either side of the plastic straw.
² Insert the arrow head and the back of arrow into the cuts at the
two sides of the straw.
² Find the balance point of the straw and fix it to the eraser of the
pencil using the long pin.

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 ² Cut a circle with the card board
and mark the four directions
² Keep the clay ball in the middle
of the card board circle and fix
the pencil on it.
² Use the instrument to find the
direction of the wind.
² The arrow head is pointed to the Fig 11.10
direction of the wind.
Eg: If the arrow head is pointed to East, the direction of the wind
is from East to west.

Activity 11.3
Let’s make an anemometer
You will need :- four spoke wires of a bicycle, two
balls with a diameter of 6 cm (in 2 colours),
Method :- a rubber cork, ignition tube
² Make a hole in the middle of the rubber cork.

² Insert the ignition tube into it.
² Cut each of the 3 spoke wires to a length of 20 cm. (They should
be with parts that are fixed to the rim.) Point the ends without
screws.
² Cut the plastic balls into two halves each. Two halves of same
colour and one half of a different colour are needed.
² Make a hole in each half of the balls to insert the spoke wires.
(See figure 11.9)
yy Use the screws of the spoke wires and fix them into the halves
of the balls.

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 Rubber Cork Half of the palstic
ball
Spoke wires

Ignition tube
Spoke wire
Wooden stand

Fig 11.11
² Fix the pointed end of the spoke to the cork with an angle of
120o (See figure 11.11)
² Insert the other spoke wire to the ignition tube and with the help
of it fix the anemometer to a pole.
² Observe the anemometer well when it rotates to the wind.
Count the number of times that the different coloured half of
the ball passes a certain point. Measure the time taken for ten
turns in minutes. You can calculate the speed of wind using it.
Eg:- If it takes 2 minutes for ten turns, what is the speed of
the anemometer?
Speed of the wind = number of turns
Time taken

= 10
2

= 5 turns per minute

Measuring the humidity of atmosphere

The amount of water vapour in the atmosphere is known as humidity.
This differs daily from time to time. The hygrometer is used to measure
the humidity. At weather centers standard hygrometers are used.
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 You too can design a simple hygrometer
to measure the humidity in atmosphere.

Fig. 11.12 A hygrometer

Activity 11.5
Let’s design a simple hygrometer
You will need : A long strand of hair (about 50 cm length), a
wooden plank, a long ekel, a pin, a nail (1 inch
long), Thin wooden strip (60 cm length)
Method (-
Strand of hair
² Fix the wooden strip on the
wooden plank as shown in wooden strip
the figure. scale
² Fix the nail at the upper end index
of the thin wooden strip.
² Fix the ekel to the thin
wooden strip with the help
of the pin as shown in the wooden plank
figure. Fig. 11.13 A hygrometer

² Wash the strand of hair with shampoo and dry it. Tie the strand
of hair to the nail and the ekel as shown in the figure. Fix a scale
to the free end of the ekel as shown in the figure.
² Mark the end of the ekel on the scale at a time when there is less
humidity in the atmosphere. Mark as ''less'' at that point. When
the humidity is increased (when it is going to rain), mark the end
of the ekel on the scale. Mark as ''more'' at that point.
² When the water vapour in the atmosphere is increased or
decreased, the length of the hair is increased or decreased. We

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 can measure the humidity with the scale.

11'5 Natural Disasters Occured Due to Climatic Changes

Cyclones
Wind is a very important factor in determining the weather. Although
wind is very important to us, sometimes it causes disasters. Cyclone is
one such disaster.
A cyclone occurs when the pressure
in some area decreases compared
to other areas of the atmosphere.
A pressure depression is created in
a place with a low pressure. Then
the air around that place is blown
at a very high speed towards the
pressure depression. This causes a
cyclone.
Fig.11.14 A satellite picture
of a cyclone
Most of the cyclones that affect our country originate in the Bay of
Bengal. Rain with storms, huge sea waves, thunderbolts occur due to
cyclones. The destruction of lives and property caused by cyclones is
very high.
The Meteorological Department is alert about cyclones during 24 hours
of the day. As it is equipped with high technological instruments, it has
the ability to warn about a cyclone before 48 hours. You can get details
about cyclones on 0112686686 or from their web site.

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 Flood
Rain is a major factor that determines the
weather. As Sri Lanka is an agricultural
country, rain is very important for us.
But heavy rains may cause disasters.
Due to heavy rains, streams, rivers,
reservoirs etc. are filled with a huge
amount of water in a very short time
period and they overflow. As a result
of this overflow a large area of land is Fig. 11.13 Flood
temporarily covered with water.This
is known as flood. Although flood is
a natural disaster, it can cause greater
damage. Flood can occur due to human
activities such as reclamation of lands,
improper construction activities and
sand mining.
Drought
Certain area gets less than 75% of expected rainfall at a certain time
period a dry weather condition may occur in that area. The dry period
that occurs due to lack of rain can be simply called as drought.

For Your Extra Knowledge Wet zone

Intermediate zone
Dry zone
Considering the annual rainfall ,Sri Lanka has Arid zone

been divided into four zones.

² Wet zone
² Intermediate zone
² Dry zone
² Arid zone
There is an expected amount of rainfall
and a pattern of rainfall for all these zones.
Fig. 11.16

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 Collecting water during the rainy
season is an action that can be taken
to minimize the effect of a drought.
Ancient kings built tanks for this
purpose.Today many people make
water collecting tanks to collect
water during rainy seasons.

Landslides Fig. 11.17 An occasion of a drought

Landslide is a natural disaster related with rain.

Having a continuous rain for three days or over 200 mm of rainfall,
may cause landslides. Sliding down a large amount of soil and stones
in a higher area (with trees, creepers and everything on it) to a lower
area is known as a landslide. The gravity of the earth affects landslides.
Landslides mostly occur in hilly areas, especially lands used by man.
Landslides are a natural process. But due to some human activities,
landslides can occur.
Eg: cultivation on slope areas, cutting trees, clearing forests
A landslide becomes a disaster when it occurs in a populated area
destroying lives and property.

Fig. 11.18 An occassion of a landslide Fig. 11.19 An occassion of a landslide

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Badulla, Nuwara Elliya, Kegalle and Rathnapura are the districts that
record more about land slides. National Building Research Organization
collects data about areas where landslides occur. It also gives instructions
to prevent landslides and re-constructs lands that have already faced
landslides.Their web address is www.nbro.gov.lk

We can’t stop natural disasters such as cyclones, flood droughts etc.

What we should do is be alert about these disasters. It is our responsi-
bility to listen to the announcements and instructions given by media
and minimize the effects of these disasters.

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 Summary
² Atmospheric condition at a specified place during a short time
period is known as weather.
² Climate is the prevailing weather condition in an area for a long
time period.
² The Meteorological Department records weather conditions and
also forecasts weather.
² Temperature, rainfall, speed of wind and humidity are some
factors that determine the weather.
² Many standard instruments are used to get information about
weather. You too can make some simple instruments to measure
the factors that affect weather.
² Natural disasters such as cyclones, flood, droughts, landslides
occur due to changes of weather conditions.
² We can minimize the effects of these natural disasters by being
alert about the changes in weather.
Exercises
1' Fill in the blanks.
I. The unit used to measure the temperature is ''''''''''''''''
I I. Wind blown horizontally at a very high speed is known as
''''''''''''
III.If the arrow head of the wind vane is pointed to North, wind
blows from ''''''''''' to''''''''
I V. The unit used to measure the rainfall is ''''''''''
2. What do you mean by ‘‘ weather’’ ?

3. What is the difference between weather and climate?

Science | Climatic Changes 175

 4. Study the table and answer the given questions.
Month : June 2012 Colombo
Date Maximum Minimum Rainfall Humidity ]
Temperature Temperature (mm)
0
C 0
C
1 31.3 27.9 0 80
2 31.6 28.1 0 81
3 31.3 28.2 0 81
4 30.9 26.8 2.29 82
5 31.3 26.4 0.25 77
6 30.7 25.2 1.29 89
7 30.5 25.0 22.35 83
8 31.3 26.9 0.25 80
9 31.3 28.1 0 82
10 31.1 28.0 0 80
Answer the following questions using the information about the
above 10 days.
I. What are the days with the same maximum temperature ?
II. What are the days with the same minimum temperature ?
III. What is the day with the least maximum temperature ?
IV. What is the day with the least minimum temperature ?
V. What is the day with the maximum rainfall ?
Project

² Have a visit to the Meteorological Department in Bauddhaloka

Mawatha, Colombo or meteorological Department in your area
and observe the process of collecting data.
² Find the methods of collecting data on weather. Collect information
and prepare a report.
² Prepare a booklet about the methods used by our ancestors to
forecast weather.

176 Science | Climatic Changes

 Glossary

Weather - ld,.=Kh - ÁõÛø»

Climate - foaY.=Kh - Põ»{ø»
Rainfall - j¾Idm;kh - ©øÇÃÌa]
Temperature - WIaK;ajh - öÁ¨£{ø»
Humidity - wd¾ø;dj - Dµ¨£uß
Rain Gauge - j¾Idudkh - ©øÇ©õÛ
Thermometer - WIaK;ajudkh - öÁ¨£©õÛ
Hygrometer - wd¾ø;dudkh - Dµ©õÛ
Anemometer - wks,udkh - PõØÖ÷ÁP©õÛ
Wind vane - iq<x ÈYd o¾Ylh - PõØÖzvø\Põmi
Cyclone - iq<s iq<x - `ÓõÁÎ
Flood - .xj;=r - öÁÒÍ®
Drought - kshÕh - Áµm]
Landslide - kdh hdu - ©sn›¨¦

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