Learn how weather works
Short, sourced explainers to help you read the weather and climate on every city page.
- How Weather Forecasting Works One forecast cycle step by step: observations, data assimilation, a 9 km global model, ensembles, post-processing and the forecast on your screen.
- How to Read a Weather Forecast What a 40% chance of rain really means (PoP = C × A), how heavy 'heavy rain' is, feels-like and wind chill worked examples, dew point, gusts and the UV index.
- Understanding Air Pressure What a pressure reading in hPa or mb means, why highs and lows are relative, how pressure falls with altitude, record values, and how to read a falling barometer.
- Weather vs Climate: What's the Difference? Weather is one day; climate is the 30-year normal. See the difference in real data from London and New York, plus what El Niño and record years really mean.
- What Causes Weather? How uneven solar heating, the Hadley cells and ITCZ, air masses, fronts and water vapour make weather, with examples from Mumbai, Riyadh and London.