AQA GCSE Geography · 3.1.1

Weather hazards

Revision questions with answers for 3.1.1 Weather hazards in AQA GCSE Geography (spec 8035). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is global atmospheric circulation?
Answer:
The large-scale movement of air around the Earth that spreads heat from the equator towards the poles and so helps to decide patterns of weather and climate.
Question 2 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Describe the general atmospheric circulation model.
Answer:
Three cells in each hemisphere: the Hadley cell (0-30 degrees), the Ferrel cell (30-60 degrees) and the Polar cell (60-90 degrees). Air rises and sinks between them.
Question 3 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Where are the pressure belts in the circulation model?
Answer:
Low pressure at the equator and at about 60 degrees north and south. High pressure at about 30 degrees north and south and at the poles.
Question 4 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why is there low pressure at the equator?
Answer:
The sun heats the surface strongly, so warm moist air rises. As it cools it condenses into huge clouds and heavy rain, leaving low pressure at the surface.
Question 5 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why is there high pressure at about 30 degrees north and south?
Answer:
Cooled air from the Hadley cell sinks here. Sinking air warms and dries, giving clear skies and little rain, which is why most hot deserts lie near 30 degrees.
Question 6 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Name the three main surface wind belts.
Answer:
Trade winds (blowing towards the equator from the north-east and south-east), westerlies (from the south-west and north-west) and polar easterlies.
Question 7 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is the Coriolis effect?
Answer:
The Earth's rotation deflects moving air to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere, so surface winds curve instead of blowing straight.
Question 8 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is the ITCZ?
Answer:
The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, where trade winds from both hemispheres meet near the equator and air rises. It brings heavy rain and moves north and south with the seasons.
Question 9 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How does atmospheric circulation affect climate?
Answer:
Rising air gives wet climates at the equator and around 60 degrees (including the UK). Sinking air gives dry climates at 30 degrees, so deserts form there.
Question 10 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why does the UK have changeable weather?
Answer:
It lies where the Ferrel and Polar cells meet, in the zone of low pressure and westerly winds, so depressions regularly bring rain and wind from the Atlantic.
Question 11 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is a tropical storm?
Answer:
An intense low-pressure system with spiralling winds above 119 km/h that forms over warm tropical oceans. It is a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone depending on where it forms.
Question 12 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What are tropical storms called in different regions?
Answer:
Hurricanes in the Atlantic and north-east Pacific, typhoons in the north-west Pacific, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean and around Australia.
Question 13 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Describe the global distribution of tropical storms.
Answer:
They form over warm oceans between about 5 and 30 degrees north and south of the equator, such as the Caribbean, the western Pacific and the Bay of Bengal.
Question 14 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why do tropical storms not form on the equator?
Answer:
The Coriolis effect is too weak there to make the air spin, so a storm cannot develop. They need to be at least about 5 degrees away.
Question 15 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How are tropical storms linked to atmospheric circulation?
Answer:
They develop where trade winds converge near the ITCZ. The trade winds steer them westwards, then the westerlies curve them away from the tropics.
Question 16 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What conditions are needed for a tropical storm to form?
Answer:
Sea surface temperature of at least 27 degrees C to a depth of about 60 m, a large ocean area, moist air, light winds aloft, and a location far enough from the equator.
Question 17 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Describe how a tropical storm forms.
Answer:
Warm water evaporates and rises, condenses into storm clouds and releases heat, which lowers pressure and draws in more air. Rotation from the Coriolis effect makes it spin faster.
Question 18 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why does a tropical storm weaken when it moves over land?
Answer:
It loses its supply of warm, moist air from the sea, and friction with the land slows the winds. Cold water has the same effect.
Question 19 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Describe the structure of a tropical storm.
Answer:
A central eye, surrounded by the eyewall with the strongest winds and heaviest rain, then spiral rainbands of cloud. The whole storm can be 200-700 km across.
Question 20 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is the eye of a tropical storm like?
Answer:
About 30-50 km wide, calm and often clear. Air sinks in the eye, giving the lowest pressure and light winds.
Question 21 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What happens in the eyewall?
Answer:
Tall cumulonimbus clouds, the strongest winds and torrential rain, as warm air rises rapidly around the eye.
Question 22 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is a storm surge and why is it dangerous?
Answer:
A rise in sea level of several metres caused by low pressure and onshore winds. It floods coastal areas and is often the biggest cause of deaths.
Question 23 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How might climate change affect tropical storms?
Answer:
Warmer seas give storms more energy, so they may become more intense with heavier rain. They might affect new areas, but changes in frequency are uncertain.
Question 24 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What are the primary effects of tropical storms?
Answer:
Strong winds destroy buildings, trees and power lines. Heavy rain causes flooding and storm surges drown coastal areas, leading to deaths and injuries.
Question 25 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What are the secondary effects of tropical storms?
Answer:
Landslides, disease from dirty water, food and water shortages, power cuts, homelessness, damaged crops and lost jobs.
Question 26 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What are the immediate responses to a tropical storm?
Answer:
Evacuation before landfall, then search and rescue, emergency shelter, food, clean water and medical help, often with international aid.
Question 27 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What are the long-term responses to a tropical storm?
Answer:
Rebuilding homes and infrastructure to a higher standard, restoring jobs and farming, building shelters and sea defences, and improving warning systems.
Question 28 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Typhoon Haiyan: when and where did it strike?
Answer:
8 November 2013, central Philippines, with winds near 315 km/h at landfall. It was one of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded on land.
Question 29 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the primary effects of Typhoon Haiyan?
Answer:
About 6,300 people died. A storm surge of 5-6 m devastated Tacloban and nearby coasts, and over a million homes were damaged or destroyed.
Question 30 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the secondary effects of Typhoon Haiyan?
Answer:
Over 4 million people were displaced. There were shortages of food, water and shelter, disease risk, damaged crops and fishing boats, and lost jobs.
Question 31 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the immediate responses to Typhoon Haiyan?
Answer:
Early warnings and mass evacuation. Afterwards, rescue teams and supplies came from the Philippines and abroad (including the UK and US), although roads and airports were damaged.
Question 32 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the long-term responses to Typhoon Haiyan?
Answer:
Rebuilding homes with safer designs, cash-for-work schemes, restoring fishing and farming, building typhoon shelters and replanting coastal mangroves.
Question 33 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why was Typhoon Haiyan so destructive?
Answer:
Extreme wind speed, a huge storm surge funnelled into a bay, poorly built homes close to the coast, and shelters that were not strong enough in a poor region.
Question 34 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How does monitoring help reduce the effects of tropical storms?
Answer:
Satellites, weather buoys and hurricane-hunter aircraft track storms so that governments can issue warnings and organise evacuations.
Question 35 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How does prediction help with tropical storms?
Answer:
Computer models forecast the storm track several days ahead, giving time to evacuate. Predicting exact strength and landfall is still harder.
Question 36 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How can people and property be protected from tropical storms?
Answer:
Cyclone shelters, reinforced or stilted houses with strong roofs, sea walls and mangrove or coral buffers, and flood barriers.
Question 37 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How can planning reduce the effects of tropical storms?
Answer:
Evacuation routes and drills, public education, warning systems, hazard maps and land-use rules that stop building in high-risk coastal zones.
Question 38 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why do monitoring, prediction, protection and planning not remove the risk?
Answer:
Systems are costly, forecasts can be wrong, warnings may not reach everyone, and people may refuse to leave. Poorer countries struggle most.
Question 39 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Give an overview of the types of weather hazard in the UK.
Answer:
Heavy rain and flooding, storms and strong winds, snow and ice, heatwaves and drought, thunderstorms and hail, and fog.
Question 40 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why does the UK experience such a variety of weather hazards?
Answer:
Its position between warm and cold air masses, and between the Atlantic and Europe, means weather is changeable and extremes can occur in any season.
Question 41 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is a depression and how does it affect the UK?
Answer:
A low-pressure system moving in from the Atlantic. It brings cloud, rain and strong winds, and a series of depressions can cause widespread flooding.
Question 42 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Somerset Levels floods: where and when?
Answer:
The low-lying Somerset Levels in south-west England, drained by the Rivers Parrett and Tone, flooded for weeks from December 2013 to February 2014.
Question 43 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the causes of the Somerset Levels floods?
Answer:
A run of Atlantic storms brought record rainfall (southern England had its wettest January since 1910). The land is very flat and low, and high tides and silted rivers slowed drainage.
Question 44 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the social impacts of the Somerset Levels floods?
Answer:
Hundreds of homes were flooded, villages such as Muchelney were cut off, people were evacuated, roads and schools closed, and residents suffered stress and disruption.
Question 45 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the economic impacts of the Somerset Levels floods?
Answer:
Thousands of hectares of farmland flooded, livestock were moved, businesses closed, transport links were cut and insurance and repair costs were high.
Question 46 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What were the environmental impacts of the Somerset Levels floods?
Answer:
Wildlife habitats and soils were waterlogged and polluted with silt and sewage. The Levels are a natural floodplain, so some wetland species benefit.
Question 47 · Spec 3.1.1.3
How was flood risk managed after the Somerset Levels floods?
Answer:
Dredging of the Rivers Tone and Parrett, a raised road at Muchelney, extra pumping and defences, and a Somerset Rivers Authority and a 20-year flood plan.
Question 48 · Spec 3.1.1.3
What is the evidence that UK weather is becoming more extreme?
Answer:
The warmest years on record have mostly occurred since 2002, the UK reached a record 40.3 degrees C in July 2022, and heavy rainfall events and wet winters have become more common.
Question 49 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why do tropical storms occur mainly in late summer and autumn?
Answer:
Ocean surface temperatures peak then, so more warm water evaporates to fuel storms (the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November).
Question 50 · Spec 3.1.1.3
Why do tropical storms often cause more deaths in low income countries?
Answer:
Homes are weaker, warnings and shelters are poorer, more people live on exposed coasts and there is less money and fewer services for rescue and recovery.

← 3.1.1 Natural hazards and tectonic hazards 3.1.1 Climate change →

Weather hazards

All questions and answers

More AQA GCSE Geography topics

Cookies on Knowledge Noodles

Cookie settings