Climate

Climate is the weather a place has over many years. Scientists look at about thirty years of weather to describe a climate. They measure things like how hot or cold it is. They also measure how much rain falls and how windy it gets. The air, water, land, and all living things affect climate too.

Different places have different climates. Some places are hot and wet. Other places are cold and dry. Scientists sort climates into groups based on temperature and rain. They use special systems to organize these groups. These systems help us understand which animals and plants can live where.

Scientists also study very old climates from long, long ago. They look at things like ice from the North Pole and rings inside old trees. These things tell us what the weather was like thousands of years ago. Scientists use computers to understand how climate changes over time.

The Earth is getting warmer. When it gets warmer, animals and plants have to move to new homes. If a place gets just a little bit warmer, animals might walk hundreds of miles to find a cooler spot. Some animals climb up mountains to find cooler air. Others move toward the North Pole where it is colder. This happens because different animals need different temperatures to survive.