Weather Hazards and Climate Change | Edexcel GCSE Geography A (1GA0)
Weather Hazards and Climate Change
- 121 questions
- 9 subtopics
- Paper 1
- Paper 1
Weather Hazards and Climate Change is examined in Paper 1, The Physical Environment.
It covers global atmospheric circulation and the transfer of heat, natural climate change and the evidence for it, the enhanced greenhouse effect and the effects of climate change, the climate of the UK and how it varies, how tropical cyclones form, and where they occur, why tropical cyclones are hazardous, and their impacts, responses to tropical cyclones, the causes of drought and why some places are more vulnerable and the impacts of drought and responses to it.
Sample questions from Weather Hazards and Climate Change
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Global atmospheric circulation and the transfer of heat
What weather is found in the belt of high pressure at about 30° north and south?
Show the answer
Air sinks and warms there, so cloud cannot form and the skies stay clear and almost rainless, which is why most hot deserts lie at those latitudes. -
Natural climate change and the evidence for it
How does the natural temperature change of the Quaternary compare with the warming of the last hundred years?
Show the answer
The natural swings were larger overall but took many thousands of years, whereas the recent rise has happened within roughly a century. -
The enhanced greenhouse effect and the effects of climate change
How does transport contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect?
Show the answer
Cars, lorries, aircraft and ships burn oil-based fuels, and every litre burned releases CO₂ into the air. -
The climate of the UK and how it varies
Which part of the UK has the mildest winters, and why?
Show the answer
The south-west, because it is most exposed to warm moist air off the Atlantic and furthest from the cold continental air that reaches the east. -
How tropical cyclones form, and where they occur
Why does a tropical cyclone weaken soon after it crosses onto land?
Show the answer
It is cut off from the warm ocean water that supplied its heat and moisture, and friction with the land surface slows its winds. -
Why tropical cyclones are hazardous, and their impacts
Why does flooding by sea water damage farmland for years afterwards?
Show the answer
Salt left in the soil poisons it for crops and can contaminate the fresh groundwater that farms and homes depend on. -
Responses to tropical cyclones
How do aid organisations respond in the days immediately after a cyclone?
Show the answer
They fly in clean water, food, medicine and tents, and set up sanitation to stop disease spreading among survivors. -
The causes of drought and why some places are more vulnerable
What weather conditions occur during a drought?
Show the answer
Persistent high pressure brings clear skies, high temperatures and strong evaporation, while the rain-bearing systems that normally pass over are steered elsewhere.
The 9 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Global atmospheric circulation and the transfer of heat | Why the equator receives more solar energy, the Hadley, Ferrel and Polar cells, low pressure near the equator and at 60° and high pressure at 30°, the trade winds and the Coriolis effect, and how circulation cells and ocean currents move heat. | 10 |
| Natural climate change and the evidence for it | The Quaternary period, glacials and interglacials, natural change compared with recent warming, Milankovitch cycles, solar output and volcanic eruptions, and the evidence from ice cores, pollen, tree rings and historical records. | 13 |
| The enhanced greenhouse effect and the effects of climate change | The natural and enhanced greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide and methane from energy, transport, cement making and farming, rising sea level and its effects, retreating mountain glaciers and meltwater, and the effects of warming on food production and wildlife. | 14 |
| The climate of the UK and how it varies | The UK's temperate maritime climate, the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, the mild south-west and more extreme east, the prevailing south-westerly wind and relief rainfall, latitude, the warm Atlantic current and frequent changes of weather. | 10 |
| How tropical cyclones form, and where they occur | The sea temperatures, latitudes and uplift tropical cyclones need, how they develop and weaken over land, their names in different oceans, the eye and eyewall, the cyclone season and warming oceans, and classifying storms on the Saffir-Simpson scale by sustained wind speed. | 17 |
| Why tropical cyclones are hazardous, and their impacts | What makes an event a hazard, the winds, storm surge, rainfall, landslides and salt damage of a tropical cyclone, its social, economic and environmental impacts, why development changes the death toll and cost, and using social media with satellite images and socio-economic data to assess impacts. | 16 |
| Responses to tropical cyclones | Preparing for a tropical cyclone, how individuals, local people and aid organisations respond, monitoring and prediction, warnings and evacuation, a government's responsibilities after a storm, and how the level of development shapes responses. | 10 |
| The causes of drought and why some places are more vulnerable | Arid environments and how aridity differs from drought, semi-arid vulnerability, drought weather, meteorological and hydrological drought, how farming, dams and deforestation cause drought, the dry subtropics, the shifting rain belt, El Niño, rain shadows and future drought risk. | 17 |
| The impacts of drought and responses to it | Why drought is a hazard, its effects on food, health, ecosystems and soil, why it costs more money in developed and more lives in developing countries, and how individuals, aid organisations and governments respond. | 14 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel GCSE Geography A Active Recall Guide
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