Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Earth Now

This video explores what scientists know about how changes in global climate and increasing temperatures affect different extreme weather events.

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Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

The video could be used to begin a larger discussion about the relationship between weather and climate, potentially using the main points to create further questions. Could be a good introduction to any unit of instruction dealing with the effects of climate change on Earth systems. Be aware that some concepts may need elaboration for younger students, for example: circling storms are a result of rotating Earth; storms decrease in intensity when they hit land, weakening due to lack of water and heat.
Uses very simple and straightforward visualizations to explain the relationship between weather and climate and how current and projected trends may affect human life. Comments from expert scientist: The page is well-organized with a very effective overview, 'about the dataset,' and 'the science and impact' summaries. The scientific content is of extreme interest and timeliness. The video is attractive; the intended audience should enjoy it.
The video brings up important and often overlooked misconceptions about climate and weather. The resource needs to be supplemented with specific materials for a guided conversation. Transcript and summary of main points is provided. Explanatory diagrams, while simplistic to some degree, are effective in describing how changes in climate affect the genesis and severity of severe storms.