Use these climate questions to spark ideas for science projects.
Ideas for projects using climate data
- “The weather has been particularly warm” – investigate statistically.
- How accurate is the forecast? (compare with actual temperatures and rainfall)
- The reality of global warming in my town.
- Is it more likely to rain in the school holidays?
- Is my city/town getting warmer?
- Investigate the correlation between grocery sales and the daily weather conditions.
- Investigate long-term weather patterns.
- Compare temperature/rainfall/climate of the main centres/different locations.
- Investigate rainfall/temperature trends in _____ over past __ years.
- Time-series analysis using rainfall or temperatures.
- Which is sunnier: Auckland or Wellington?
- Which city has the warmer/drier/windier/sunnier climate?
- Is Wellington really the windiest city?
- Do the temperatures of Northland exceed Southland by 5 degrees?
- Does the temperature affect the attendance at “Adventure Park”?
- Does the temperature affect the rugby ball in play?
- Investigate the feasibility of a farming venture.
- Is the speed of a cyclist on a return trip affected by the wind?
- Do cities with same latitude have similar weather patterns?
- Does climate affect the viability of building an international airport at _____?
- Compare average monthly rain and temperatures in NZ to 10 years ago.
- How does the weather affect shopping patterns?
- Investigate the relationship between rainfall and milk/butterfat production.
- Investigate the relationship between rainfall and umbrella sales.
- Investigate the relationship between temperature and coat sales.
- Does snowfall depend on altitude or latitude?
- Investigate the relationship between temperature and latitude.
- Do the sunniest locations have less rain?
- Does ozone depletion cause a significant improvement/rise in Dunedin temperatures?
- Make a case for the staging of a large outdoor concert in your city.
- How are weather patterns predicted?
- Which cities will be affected by global warming and rising sea-level?
- What effect would rising sea-level have on land area and population in different parts of New Zealand and/or the Pacific Islands.
- An analysis of temperature patterns across a town/city.
Dave Allen
NIWA