Climate & Weather Quiz

Question 1

What is the difference between 'weather' and 'climate'?

Accepted Answer

Weather is short-term atmospheric conditions; climate is long-term patterns over decades

Answer

They mean the same thing

Answer

Weather is global; climate is local

Answer

Climate changes daily; weather doesn't

Question 2

Which climate zone is found near the equator, characterised by high temperatures and heavy rainfall year-round?

Accepted Answer

Tropical rainforest

Answer

Mediterranean

Answer

Savanna

Answer

Desert

Question 3

What is the 'greenhouse effect'?

Accepted Answer

The trapping of heat in the atmosphere by gases like CO₂ and water vapour

Answer

The warming effect of greenhouses on local plants

Answer

A type of weather pattern caused by urban areas

Answer

The reflection of sunlight by clouds

Question 4

What is a 'monsoon'?

Accepted Answer

A seasonal reversal of wind direction bringing distinct wet and dry seasons

Answer

A violent tropical storm

Answer

A type of ocean current

Answer

An extreme drought following heavy rain

Question 5

What is the Coriolis effect?

Accepted Answer

The deflection of moving objects (including wind and water) due to Earth's rotation

Answer

The bending of ocean currents around continents

Answer

The warming of equatorial regions by the Sun

Answer

The cooling of air as it rises in the atmosphere

Question 6

What wind scale is used to measure wind speed?

Accepted Answer

The Beaufort Scale

Answer

The Richter Scale

Answer

The Saffir-Simpson Scale

Answer

The Fujita Scale

Question 7

What is the driest place on Earth?

Accepted Answer

The Atacama Desert, Chile

Answer

The Sahara Desert

Answer

The Arabian Desert

Answer

Death Valley, USA

Question 8

What is El Niño?

Accepted Answer

A periodic warming of the central and eastern Pacific that disrupts global weather patterns

Answer

A seasonal monsoon over the Pacific

Answer

A permanent ocean current

Answer

A type of tropical storm

Question 9

Hurricanes are called different names depending on where they occur. What are they called in the Western Pacific?

Accepted Answer

Typhoons

Answer

Cyclones

Answer

Tornadoes

Answer

Willy-willies

Question 10

What is the 'ozone layer' and why is it important?

Accepted Answer

A layer of atmospheric ozone that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun

Answer

A layer of cloud that reflects heat back to Earth

Answer

A layer of gases that create the greenhouse effect

Answer

The outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere

Question 11

Which region of the world has a 'Mediterranean climate' characterised by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters?

Accepted Answer

Mediterranean coast, California, Chile, SW Australia, South Africa

Answer

Southern England and northern France

Answer

The Amazon Basin

Answer

The Sahel region of Africa

Question 12

What causes the seasons on Earth?

Accepted Answer

Earth's axial tilt of 23.5° as it orbits the Sun

Answer

Earth's distance from the Sun varying throughout the year

Answer

Changes in the Sun's brightness

Answer

The Moon's gravitational influence

Question 13

What is the 'rain shadow' effect?

Accepted Answer

The dry area on the leeward side of a mountain range where rainfall is reduced

Answer

Rain occurring in the shadow of clouds

Answer

The cooling effect of rain on hot deserts

Answer

Reduced sunlight causing less evaporation and rainfall

Question 14

What is 'permafrost'?

Accepted Answer

Ground that remains at or below 0°C for two or more consecutive years

Answer

Permanently frozen Arctic ocean

Answer

Ice caps at the poles

Answer

Frozen precipitation that never melts

Question 15

The Sahara Desert is the world's largest hot desert. Approximately how large is it?

Accepted Answer

About 9 million km² — slightly larger than the USA

Answer

About the size of the USA

Answer

About 15 million km²

Answer

About 5 million km²

Question 16

What is a 'tornado'?

Accepted Answer

A violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground

Answer

A large rotating tropical storm over warm ocean water

Answer

A sudden flash flood in a desert

Answer

A strong, sustained wind along a coast

Question 17

Which gas is primarily responsible for man-made climate change?

Accepted Answer

Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

Answer

Oxygen

Answer

Nitrogen

Answer

Ozone

Question 18

What is 'acid rain'?

Accepted Answer

Unusually acidic rainfall caused by sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from burning fossil fuels

Answer

Rain with a pH below 7, caused by dissolved CO₂

Answer

Rain that is toxic due to industrial chemicals

Answer

Rain that corrodes limestone and marble only

Question 19

What is the jet stream?

Accepted Answer

A fast-flowing narrow band of air in the upper atmosphere

Answer

A fast-moving narrow ocean current in the tropics

Answer

The path of a rocket from Earth to space

Answer

A column of superheated air from a volcano

Question 20

Global average temperatures have risen by approximately how much since the late 19th century?

Accepted Answer

1.1-1.2°C

Answer

0.2°C

Answer

0.5°C

Answer

2.5°C