Climate graphs

Water resources for a particular place in the world are usually linked to the climate of that place.
Understanding the climate features of a place — in particular, the temperature and precipitation — can
help to determine the possible availability of water resources. Climate graphs provide us with a summary
picture of the temperature and rainfall of a place.

A climate graph is a graph that shows the average temperature and rainfall for a place
over the twelve months of the year. Climate graphs are drawn from climate data. A
climate graph combines two graphs, a temperature graph and a rainfall graph. One is a
line graph and the other a histogram (a histogram is like a column graph, but there are
no gaps between the columns in a histogram and the columns represent the frequency
of the distribution of a particular kind of data, rather than different categories of data).

1. Examine the climate data and climate graph for Cloncurry below to identify the features of a climate
graph.
Average temperature is calculated from the average highest
temperature and average lowest temperature for a place.

Cloncurry, Australia

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average
36 35 28 25 21 18 17 20 24 28 31 36
temp (°C)
Average
115 120 70 20 10 7 5 2 5 10 25 70
rainfall (mm)
Data sourced from: www.worldclimate.com

Title

These numbers
identify rainfall

Temperature is
shown by a line
graph — red

Rainfall is These numbers

shown by identify
columns temperature
with no
gaps —
blue

Temperature scale on
the secondary y-axis
Rainfall scale on the
primary y-axis
Months of the year
recorded on the x-axis

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 a. Which two aspects of a place’s climate appear on a climate graph?

The two aspects that appear on a climate graph is information on average temperature and
rainfall.

b. Which aspect of a place’s climate do the columns represent?

The columns represent average rainfall.

c. Which aspect of a place’s climate does the line represent?

The line represents average temperature.

d. Which of the graph’s two axes has a primary and secondary axis?

The Y axis has a primary and secondary axis.

e. What is depicted on the x-axis?

The X axis depicts months of the year.

f. Why is it valuable to have both the table and the graph when trying to determine the climate
characteristics of a particular place?

Because if the amounts are too high, it is harder to estimate therefore bringing the need for the
exact information conveyed through the table.

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2. Examine the climate graphs for Cooktown and Thredbo below and answer the questions that follow.
Cooktown, Australia

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average
28 28 27 26 25 23 22 23 24 26 27 28
temp (°C)
Average
372 371 387 218 79 50 27 30 16 22 63 164
rainfall (mm)
Data sourced from: www.worldclimate.com

Thredbo, Australia

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average
16 16 13 9 5 2 0 1 3 7 12 14
temp (°C)
Average
89 97 119 97 110 87 110 124 149 123 147 110
rainfall (mm)
Data sourced from: www.worldclimate.com

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 a. Complete the table using the climate data for Cooktown and Thredbo.

Cooktown Thredbo

Highest average temperature 28℃ 16℃

Hottest month DEC JAN FEB JAN FEB

Lowest average temperature 22℃ 0℃

Coldest month JUL JUL

Highest rainfall 372mm 149mm

In which season does most rain fall? Summer Late Winter and Spring

Lowest rainfall 16mm 87mm

In which season does least rain fall? Winter and Spring Summer

Total annual (yearly) rainfall 1799mm 1362mm

b. Describe the relationship between temperature, rainfall and seasons in:

• Cooktown

Higher temperature possesses higher rainfall mostly during Summer months, and colder
temps with lower rainfall.

• Thredbo

Thredbo has mostly constant rainfall throughout the year, but is slightly differed during the
hotter months in Summer having less rainfall, while Winter months having more rainfall due to
it being colder.

a. Why might floods be more likely in Cooktown than in Thredbo?

Floods would be more likely in cooktown due to the already displayed higher total rainfall of
1799mm in comparison to Thredbo’s 1362mm. During Summer months, Cooktown has a more
humid climate with 1130mm of rainfall in only 3 months, indicating higher rainfalls for an enlarged
possibility of severe floods because of unabling evaporation, decreasing in infilitration due to
urbanisation and and excess runoff.

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3. Below are climate figures for Brisbane. Construct a graph that represents this data. Use the blank
graph provided.

Brisbane, Australia

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average
25 25 24 22 18 16 15 16 18 21 23 24
temp (°C)
Average
161 156 140 89 73 67 57 47 47 77 97 134
rainfall (mm)
Data sourced from: www.worldclimate.com

Brisbane, Australia

When comparing climate graphs from different places, it is important to first

check that the axis scales are the same.

4. Describe how the following climate graphs could be misinterpreted.

The following climate graph does not have a key to interperete which a line graph or column graph is
for. E.g., Column graphs misinterpereted as temp, line graph as rainfall.

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 Climate graph for Thursday Island, Australia
450
30
400
350 25
300
20
250
Rainfall 15 Temperature
(mm) 200 (C)
150 10
100
5
50
0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Months

Average rainfall Average temp

Climate graph for Cloncurry, Australia

120
30
100
25
80
20
Rainfall 60 15 Temperature
(mm) (C)
40 10

20 5

0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Months

Average rainfall Average temp

5. Why are climate graphs valuable in helping to identify the possible water resources in a place?

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 Map 1: Rainfall map of Queensland July 2013–June 2014

Thursday Island

Cloncurry

Queensland rainfall totals 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 (Bureau of Meteorology) http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap/rain/index.jsp?colour=colour&time=latest&step=0&map=totals&period=12month&area=qd

6. Refer to Map 1 on rainfall for Queensland. Are the rainfall statistics represented in the climate graphs
for Thursday Island and Cloncurry typical for these two locations? Explain your answer.

7. Refer to Map 2, showing the location of the Great Dividing Range along Australia’s east coast. The
prevailing winds along Australia’s east coast are generally from the southeast. What effect might the
location of the Great Dividing Range have on Queensland’s rainfall pattern, indicated in the rainfall
map of Queensland above?

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 Map 2: The Great Dividing Range

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