SEASONS
In some places, such as deserts or rainforests, the weather is much the
same all year round. However in other places, for example northern
Europe, we expect a certain kind of weather at certain times of the year. In
winter, the days may often be cold or stormy, while summer days can be
warm and sunny. When the weather changes regularly throughout the year
like this, the changes are known asseasons. Some places have just two
seasons, a wet one and a dry one, other places have four: spring, summer,
autumn and winter.
Seasons occur because the Earth is tilted at an angle on its axis. As the
Earth moves around the sun during the year, different parts of the Earth
are tilted towards the sun at different times. In the Northern Hemisphere,
when the North Pole tilts away from the sun, the sun is low in the sky and
days are short, bringing the season we call winter. When the North Pole
tilts towards the sun though, more light and heat reaches the Northern
Hemisphere as the sun is high in the sky and days are long. This change
brings what we know as summer. Between these two seasons are spring
and autumn, where the region becomes gradually warmer and colder as it
tilts towards or away from the sun respectively
These movements of the Earth all contribute to give the four seasons we
experience in Great Britain and the rest of the Northern
Hemisphere. However, because of the way the seasons work, the
opposite sides of the equator experience opposite seasons as the Earth
moves round the sun each year. For example winter happens in Europe
and the United States when it is summer on the opposite side of the world,
in Australia.