E5: Talking about the weather, seasons and climate change

 

Central Park in winter, New York City (Shutterstock)

OVERVIEW

 

 

 

NEW WORDS

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Weather.

Nouns.

  • blizzard (plural: blizzards)a strong bitterly cold wind accompanied by a widespread heavy snowfall.
  • climate (plural: climates)  the meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region.
  • cloud (plural: clouds) a visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level.
  • fog  condensed water vapor in cloudlike masses lying close to the ground and limiting visibility.
  • gale (plural: gales) a storm at sea.
  • gust  (plural: gusts) a strong, abrupt rush of wind.
  • hail precipitation in the form of spherical or irregular pellets of ice usually associated with thunderstorms.
  • hailstorm (plural: hailstorms) a storm with hail.
  • heat the sensation or perception of such energy as warmth or hotness.
  • heat wave (plural: waves) a period of unusually hot weather.
  • icewater frozen solid.
  • icicle (plural: icicles) a tapering spike of ice formed by the freezing of dripping or falling water.
  • lightning a brilliant electric discharge in the sky.
  • mist water vapor condensed on and clouding the appearance of a surface.
  • rain water falling to earth in drops.
  • rainbow (plural: rainbows) an arc in the sky of spectral colors, caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun’s rays through rain or mist.
  • sandstorm (plural: sandstorms) a strong wind carrying clouds of sand and dust through the air.
  • shower (plural: showers) a brief fall of precipitation, such as rain, hail, or sleet.
  • sleet a mixture of rain and snow or hail.
  • snow frozen precipitation consisting of hexagonally symmetrical ice crystals that form soft, white flakes.
  • snowstorm (plural: snowstorms) a storm marked by heavy snowfall.
  • squall (plural: squalls) a sudden strong wind or brief turbulent storm.
  • temperature (plural: temperatures) a measure of this degree of hotness, indicated on a scale,
  • thunder a loud booming sound.
  • thunderstorm (plural: thunderstorms) a storm caused by strong rising air currents and characterized by thunder and lightning and usually heavy rain or hail.
  • 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.
  • wind chill the lowering of body temperature ue to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air.

Verbs.

  • to rain (verb. It is raining) to fall in drops of water from the clouds.
  • to snow (verb: It is snowing) precipitation from clouds in the form of snowflakes of ice crystals.

Adjectives.

  • chilly feeling cool or moderately cold.
  • cloudy overcast; covered with clouds.
  • cool neither warm nor very cold; moderately cold.
  • foggy cloudy; misty.
  • freezing extremely cold.
  • hot being at a high temperature.
  • mild moderate; not extreme.
  • misty filled or abounding with fog or mist;
  • nice pleasing and agreeable in nature.
  • scorching very not.
  • sunny bright, clear, abounding in sunshine.
  • warm having a moderate degree of heat.
  • windy breezy.

Seasons.

Nouns.

  • autumn/fall (plural: autumns)  the season of the year between summer and winter.
  • spring (plural: springs)  the season between winter and summer.
  • summer (plural: summers) usually the warmest season of the year, occurring between spring and autumn.
  • winter (plural: winters) usually the coldest season of the year, occurring between autumn and spring.

Natural Disasters.

Nouns.

  • avalanche (plural: avalanches) a fall or slide of a large mass of material, especially of snow, down a mountainside. 
  • blizzard (plural: blizzards)  a very heavy snowstorm with high winds.
  • cyclone (plural: cyclones) a violent tropical storm.
  • drought (plural: draughts)  a long period of dry weather.
  • earthquake (plural: earthquakes) a sudden release of energy in the earth’s crust or upper mantle, usually caused by movement along a fault plane.
  • flood (plural: floods) an overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry.
  • hurricane (plural: hurricanes)  a severe, often destructive storm with high winds.
  • landslide (plural: landslides) the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff.
  • lightning strike (plural: strikes) a brilliant electric discharge in the sky.
  • monsoon (plural: monsoons) a seasonal wind n southern Asia bringing rain.
  • natural disaster (plural: disasters) an emergency situation posing significant danger to life and property that results from a natural cause. 
  • tornado (plural: tornados) a violent storm with winds whirling around a small area.
  • tsunami (plural: tsunamis) a very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.
  • typhoon (plural: typhoons) a tropical cyclone occurring in the western Pacific or Indian Oceans.
  • volcanic eruption (plural: eruptions) the sudden occurrence of a violent discharge of steam and volcanic material such as lava.
  • wildfire (plural: wildfires) a raging, rapidly spreading fire.

Climate Change

  • atmosphere the air or climate in a particular place.
  • carbon footprint (plural: footprints) the amount of carbon-containing greenhouse gases released into the environment by an activity, process, individual, or group.
  • CO2/carbon dioxide Aacolorless, odorless, incombustible gas that is formed during respiration, combustion, and organic decomposition.
  • deforestation the cutting down and removal of all or most of the trees in a forested area.
  • climate change  long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. 
  • ecosystem (plural: ecosystems) a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with its environment.
  • emission (plural: emissions) the release of gases, liquids, and/or solids from any process or industry. Liquid emissions are commonly referred to as effluents.
  • food security the availability of food in a country and the ability of individuals within that country to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuff.
  • fossil fuel (plural: fuels) a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth’s crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. 
  • global warming An increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere, especially a sustained increase sufficient to cause climatic change.
  • greenhouse effect (plural: effects) occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet’s atmosphere cause some of the heat radiated from the planet’s surface to build up at the planet’s surface.
  • greenhouse gas (plural: gases) the gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide and methane that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. 
  • mitigation the action of lessening in severity or intensity.
  • renewable energy (plural: energies) renewable energy is energy from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. Renewable resources include sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. 
  • sea level rise caused by the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers, and the expansion of seawater as it warms.

Adjectives.

  • sustainable capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment.

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VISUAL VOCABULARY

  • Talking about the weather
  • Talking about natural disasters
  • Talking about climate change

KEY PHRASES

 

 

GRAMMAR TIPS

 

 

ONLINE RESOURCES

  • Today’s weather in New York City
  • Today’s weather in Toronto
  • Today’s weather in London
  • Today’s weather in Dublin
  • Today’s weather in Sydney
  • Today’s weather in Auckland