The climate crisis has engaged students with weather and climate like never before. The global movement of climate strikes by school children and the emergence of key youth leaders like Greta Thunberg have shown the passion of students for environmentalism, sustainability and a will to create a greener planet.
Students are more aware of the impacts that changes in our climate system have on their everyday lives. 2020 marked the end of the warmest decade on record1, extreme weather events are impacting areas with increasing frequency and severity all over the globe (and right here in the UK), and some students even acknowledge the need for climate justice.
This poses major questions for educators and teachers:
- Do we provide our students with enough knowledge to engage with these issues?
- Do our students possess understanding of how climate changed in the distant and near past and how that relates to the rate of change at present?
- From a young age do our students understand the basic principles of the weather, how it relates to climate and how it affects them?
- Do students know how weather is measured and information is collected?
- Can students relate global patterns of climate change to the place where they live and the wider UK?
The Royal Meteorological Society has produced “Weather and Climate: A Teachers’ Guide” aimed at early secondary students to try and engage with these questions and promote high quality weather climate teaching and learning. All of the resources discussed in this article are available for free at https://www.metlink.org/weather-and-climate-teachers-guide/
The Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society works to strengthen the science and raise awareness of the importance of weather and climate, support meteorological professionals and inspire enthusiasts. They believe that:
- All students should leave school with basic weather literacy that allows them to understand the weather that affects them, their leisure activities and the careers they choose to follow;
- Every student should leave school with basic climate literacy that would enable them to engage with the messages put forward by the media or politicians and to make informed decisions about their own opportunities and responsibilities.