Funded in part by a grant from the City’s Initiative Program through the Houston Arts Alliance.

CLIMATE: The average condition of the weather at a place usually over a period of years (starting at around 30 years) as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity and

precipitation.

Weather vs. Climate

WEATHER: The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity

and barometric pressure.

TropicalArid

TemperateTundraPolar

TropicalCLIMATE REGION

• HOT AND HUMID

• ABUNDANT RAINFALL

• LOTS OF SUNSHINE

• CONSTANT TEMPS

ALL OF THESE CONDITIONS MEAN THAT TROPICAL CLIMATES HAVE IDEAL GROWING CONDITIONS.

ALL OF THE WORLD’S TROPICAL RAINFORESTS ARE FOUND IN THE TROPICAL CLIMATE ZONE.

As many as 30 million species of plants and animals live in tropical rainforests.

A typical four square mile area of rainforest contains as many as 1,500

flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of

butterflies.

AridCLIMATE REGION

• High Evaporation

• Low Precipitation

This climate is characteristic of the desert or semi-desert areas and of great continental areas surrounded by mountains.

IT IS HARD TO LIVE IN THE DESERT . . . ANIMALS AND PLANTS THAT LIVE IN ARID REGIONS MUST BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IN VERY HARSH CONDITIONS.

THEY MUST BE ABLE TO SURVIVE

• EXTREME HOT AND COLD TEMPERATURES

• EXPOSURE TO SUN

• LIMITED WATER AND FOOD SUPPLIES

TemperateCLIMATE REGION

WARM AND HUMID SUMMERS (WITH FREQUENT THUNDERSTORMS) AND

MILD WINTERS

NO EXTREME TEMPERATURES OR

PRECIPITATION

Some animals like bears

HIBERNATE and stay warm in their dens all winter.

Animals that live in Continental Temperate Zones have to deal with changing temperatures in the winter and the summer.

Some animals like geese

MIGRATE south for the winter.

TUNDRA CLIMATE REGION

• VERY COLD TEMPERATURES, NEVER REACHING OVER 50 DEGREES.

• 9 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR ARE BELOW FREEZING.

• LESS THAN 10 INCHES OF RAIN PER YEAR.

• DURING THE WINTER THE SUN NEVER RISES ABOVE THE HORIZON.

• PERMAFROST (PERMANENTLY FROZEN GROUND) IS A MAJOR FEATURE.

ANIMALS THAT LIVE IN THE TUNDRA ARE

SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO LIVE IN EXTREMELY COLD

TEMPERATURES.

MANY HAVE THICK COATS OF DENSE FUR THAT ALLOW

THEM TO STAY WARM.

MANY OF THE ANIMALS ARE WHITE IN COLOR TO HELP BLEND

INTO THE SNOW.

PolarCLIMATE REGION

• Covered by snow and ice throughout year

• Temperatures rarely above freezing

• Extremely dry

The POLAR CLIMATE is one of the harshest

climates on the planet. Very few animals

can survive in the extremely cold

conditions.

Most polar animals have a thick, dense

coat of fur and a thick layer of BLUBBER (fat)

that keeps them warm.

Funded in part by a grant from the City’s Initiative Program through the Houston Arts Alliance.

For more information, visit the

INTERACTIVE CLIMATE ZONE

EXHIBIT at The Weather Museum