Climate Change
Primary 4 · English
Climate Change
Lesson 1 of 4
45 min
Ishimwe's grandfather is a farmer in Rulindo. “When I was a boy,” he says, “the rains always came in September, and we planted our beans. Now we never know. Some years the rain comes late. Some years it comes all at once!”
Grandfather is talking about climate change. Today you will read what it is and why it is happening.
First, two words that are easy to mix up:
This text is adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article Climate change.
Climate change means long changes in the temperature, the rain and the air all around the Earth.
The Earth's climate has changed many times before, over thousands and millions of years. There were hotter times. There were also very cold times, called ice ages.
But today, when people talk about climate change, they usually mean global warming. Global warming is happening now, and it is caused by people. The Earth is getting warmer because there are more greenhouse gases in the air. These gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, come from things people do: burning coal, oil and gas, cutting down forests, and running factories.
Climate change can bring more extreme weather, like very heavy rain and long droughts. It makes the sea rise. It also harms plants, animals and farming.
Has the Earth's climate ever changed before?
Yes, many times, over thousands and millions of years.
What is making the Earth warmer today?
More greenhouse gases in the air, from things people do.
Name two things people do that add greenhouse gases to the air.
Any two: burning coal, oil and gas; cutting down forests; running factories.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| temperature | how hot or cold something is |
| greenhouse gases | gases, like carbon dioxide, that trap heat around the Earth like a blanket |
| fossil fuels | coal, oil and gas, made long ago from dead plants and animals |
| deforestation | cutting down many trees |
| drought | a long time with too little rain |
| flood | too much water covering land that is usually dry |
Trees help us, because they take carbon dioxide out of the air. So when we cut down forests, more of this gas stays in the air.
Speak: Explain climate change to a younger brother or sister in three simple sentences. Use the blanket idea: The gases are like a blanket …
Write four sentences. Two with because and two with so. Example: We need trees because they clean the air.
Tip
Weather is your mood today; climate is your character. You can be sad today and still be a happy person! In the same way, one cold day doesn't change a warm climate.
Write your answers in your exercise book, then check.
Is this weather or climate? It is raining in Huye this morning.
Answer: weather (it is about today)
What are coal, oil and gas called?
Answer: fossil fuels
Complete with because or so: It didn't rain for months, ___ the crops dried up.
Answer: so
Complete with because or so: The Earth is warmer ___ there is more carbon dioxide in the air.
Answer: because
Why are trees good for the climate?
Answer: They take carbon dioxide out of the air.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Which sentence is about climate, not weather?
