Weather, Seasons and Us

≈ 15 min

The weather does not stay the same all year. It follows a repeating pattern of four seasons: summer, autumn, winter and spring. Because the seasons repeat every year, they form a cycle, just like the life cycles you met earlier.

Weather and seasons matter to people every day:

Clothing: we dress warmly in winter and lightly in summer.
Farming: farmers plant and harvest crops according to the seasons and the rain.
Water: long dry spells with little rain — called droughts — can empty dams and harm crops.
Safety: heavy summer storms can bring floods.

In much of South Africa summers are hot and rainy and winters are cool and dry, but the Western Cape is different — it gets most of its rain in winter.

How many seasons are there in a year in South Africa?

Why does the weather matter to farmers?

It only decides the colour of the sky

It affects when to plant crops and whether there is enough rain

It has no effect on farming at all

It only matters on weekends

A long period with very little or no rain, which can empty dams and harm crops, is called a ______.