Water, Weather and Climate 

Speakers 

Narrator – N1 (Josh) 

[music] 

N1: Hey there, is this rain the same water that's in our oceans and rivers. 

N1: Let's find out. 

N1: Water is always on the move. 

N1: Rain falling today may have been water in an ocean far away just days before. 

N1: Water is in the atmosphere, on the land, in the ocean and underground. 

N1: It moves from place to place through the water cycle. 

N1: But our natural water cycle is changing as climate changes. 

N1: So what is climate and what does weather have to do with our water supplies? 

N1: Weather is what you see outside over a few days. 

N1: Well, climate describes typical weather conditions in an entire region over a longer period of time. 

N1: Let's check out the Australian climate zones, Tropical zone places like Cairns and Darwin. 

N1: They're warm and humid for most of the year because they're closest to the equator. 

N1: Subtropical zone places like Brisbane, Summers are hot and winters are mild. 

N1: The temperate zone places like Melbourne and Hobart, they have distinct seasons, cold short days in winter and long hot days in summer. 

N1: So where do you live and how does the climate affect your weather? 

N1: The climate in Australia is changing. 

N1: As the temperatures have gone hotter across the globe, temperatures have warmed and although the Earth's climate has always changed, this time the warming is happening a lot faster than ever before. 

N1: This is referred to as global warming and this is causing more extreme weather events like floods and droughts. 

N1: So can we look at what extreme weather events are? 

N1: Too much rain has got to cause flooding, right? 

N1: Although floods are a natural part of the water cycle, when they're severe they can be dangerous, affecting people, animals, their homes and environment. 

N1: There are three main ways floods can happen in Australia. 

N1: Heavy rains cause rivers and creeks that burst their banks. 

N1: Or heavy rain falls on hard surfaces, the ground can't absorb the water, and the storm water drains can't cope. 

N1: All along the coast, ocean tides rise above normal sea levels during storm events. 

N1: Flood Facts 

N1: Floods are important to nature and animals. 

N1: Floods help refill waterways, lakes or wetlands. 

N1: Floods keep them from drying up and keep the ecosystem going. 

N1: So what about the opposite? 

N1: What happens when there's no rain? 

N1: Droughts Facts 

N1: Droughts are another type of severe weather event. 

N1: They occur for lots of reasons too. 

N1: If it doesn't rain for a long time, or it's hotter than usual, water dries out fast, which means soil, rivers, dams, and reservoirs can dry out. 

N1: Less available water means plants have trouble growing, and there'll be less food for animals to eat. 

N1: Drought can also increase the risk of Bush fires. 

N1: So what I've learned is that all of this change to our climate is affecting our water cycle because it changes as our climate changes. 

N1: There will only ever be a set amount of water on Earth, and it moves from place to place through the water cycle, and that's what helps our Earth to survive into the future. 

N1: I'm going to keep my eye on the weather a lot more closely from now on. 

N1: How about you?