HSC Geography › Human–Environment Interactions › 13.1

# Activity Materials — Characteristics of Climate Change

NSW Stage 6 Geography (2022) · Student worksheet · Data-reading focus
Name: Class: Date:

## Activity 1 · Climate or weather?

Key definitions · ~8 min
Tick whether each statement describes weather or climate.

Statement | Weather | Climate
--- | --- | ---
“It's raining right now.” |  |
“Sydney summers are warm and humid.” |  |
“This decade was the warmest on record.” |  |
“A cold front will pass through tomorrow.” |  |

## Activity 2 · Read the temperature-anomaly graph

Processing geographical information · ~15 min
Use the graph to answer. Show working where a calculation is asked for.

1. Roughly how much warmer is “now” than the baseline?
2. In which period does the line rise most steeply?
3. Why does it matter that five independent datasets show the same trend?
4. Is this a temporal or a spatial characteristic? Explain.

## Activity 3 · Ocean warming & storms

Applying geographical understanding · ~10 min
Complete the causal chain, then answer the question.

More greenhouse heat | → | ? | → | ? (effect on storms)
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
absorbed by oceans |  |  |  |

Question: why do warmer oceans make storms more intense rather than necessarily more frequent?

## Activity 4 · Spatial vs temporal

Organising geographical information · ~10 min
Sort each characteristic into the correct column.

Items: warming since 1880 · Arctic warms fastest · nearly all regions warmer · fastest in last 40 years · whole of Australia warmed · warmest years this century

Temporal (over time) | Spatial (across place)
--- | ---

## Activity 5 · Australian data file

Acquiring geographical information · ~20 min (may be homework)
Using the BoM/CSIRO State of the Climate (latest edition), complete the file. Record the source and year.

Indicator | Figure / trend | Source (report & year)
--- | --- | ---
Warming per decade (since 1970) |  |
Warmest year on record |  |
Trend in dangerous fire-weather days |  |

Take it further — reputable sources: BoM/CSIRO State of the Climate · NASA temperature · NOAA Climate at a Glance

## Activity 6 · Short-response practice

Communicating geographical understanding · ~15 min
Answer in full sentences, using data.

Q: “Describe the spatial and temporal characteristics of recent climate change, using evidence.”

Concept: change Concept: scale Concept: environment

Rose Bay Secondary College · HSC Geography · Human–Environment Interactions — Activities (13.1) · NESA Stage 6 (2022) · HSC 2026
Aligned to the NESA Geography Stage 6 Syllabus (2022); model answers in the teacher lesson plan.