People and Weather

• The earth’s climate and weather conditions have been changing constantly throughout the earth’s Geological Timescale.
• This has in turn had an impact on people’s cultures, history and current economical and social activities.
• For example people migrated from the African continent to other continents over ice sheets which have since disappeared over time due to an increase in global temperatures.
• Coal developed in Hwange because there once thrived a large forests over the area during pluvial periods.
• Weather impacts our physical well being (hot humid weather  such as in rain forests, is enervating while cold weather such as that found in Siberia can even be fatal owing to hypothermia. Meanwhile the dry hot air in deserts is likely to lead to dehydration which can also be fatal.)

How people have changed weather?

• People have been changing weather deliberately and unintentionally since time immemorial.
• Deliberate changes can be seen as an attempt to aid agriculture such as green houses to protect from frost, increasing local supplies of rain, dam constructions etc.
• Accidental changes that are largely detrimental for example Acid rain, global warming and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
• An example of how people sometimes comprehensively influence the weather of a place due to their activities are Urban Islands.
• Follow the three links above to learn more about each topic.

Go to the Geography Notes page to access more topics.