GCSE-readyFieldwork: investigating microclimates
Your school grounds can have several small climates. A microclimate study is a classic first fieldwork enquiry, and you can do it in one lesson.
What is a microclimate?
Factors: surfaces (tarmac and concrete absorb heat; grass stays cooler), buildings (give shelter and shade, or funnel wind), shade from trees, aspect (which way a slope or wall faces: in the UK, south-facing places get more sun), and nearby water.
Cities are often warmer than the countryside around them: the urban heat island effect.
Planning the enquiry
Choose sites that contrast: car park, field, under trees, beside a building.
Equipment: thermometer (temperature), anemometer (wind speed), wind vane or compass (wind direction), and a light meter or cloud estimate.
Make it fair: take readings at the same time, the same height above the ground, and repeat them to take an average.
Always do a risk assessment (traffic, trip hazards, weather).
Presenting and concluding
Describe the pattern with data: 'The car park was the warmest at 19 degrees C, 3 degrees warmer than the field.'
Explain it using the factors. Then conclude (accept or reject the hypothesis) and evaluate: were readings taken quickly enough? Did the sun come out half-way through?
Explain why a south-facing wall in the UK might be warmer than a north-facing one.
- The UK is north of the Tropic of Cancer, so the sun is always to the south at midday.
- A south-facing wall receives direct sunshine for much of the day.
- A north-facing wall is mostly in shade, so it stays cooler.
Answer: In the UK the sun shines from the south, so a south-facing wall gets more direct sunshine.
A microclimate is the climate of a small area. Surfaces, buildings, shade, aspect and water all change it; cities form urban heat islands. A fair enquiry uses a hypothesis, contrasting sites, readings at the same time and height, repeats and a risk assessment, then concludes and evaluates.
- Fieldwork
- Collecting data or information outside the classroom.
- Climate
- The average weather of a place, usually measured over 30 years.
- Weather
- The day-to-day condition of the atmosphere: temperature, rainfall, wind and cloud.
- Not “Taking one reading in the morning and one in the afternoon”. Temperatures change through the day, so this would not be fair.
- Not “An anemometer”. An anemometer measures wind speed.
Try two quick questions
See if it has sunk in. Answers are marked straight away.
2 more questions
Try each one, then tap to check.
Which of these is an example of a microclimate?
- The climate of the whole of Europe
- Tomorrow's weather forecast
- The global average temperature
- A sheltered corner of a playground that stays warmer than the field
Show the answer
Answer: A sheltered corner of a playground that stays warmer than the field
A microclimate is the climate of a small area that differs from its surroundings.
Why is a grass field often cooler than tarmac on a sunny day?
- Grass makes its own cold air
- Grass is always higher up
- Grass reflects no light at all
- Grass absorbs less heat and loses water by evaporation, which cools it
Show the answer
Answer: Grass absorbs less heat and loses water by evaporation, which cools it
Dark tarmac absorbs and stores more heat than grass.
Check you have got it
Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.
Checked by the GCSE-ready editorial team, 23 October 2026. Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.