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Using Webcams in Geography
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I have put together links to a selection of webcams that range literally from the North Pole to the South Pole. Each location has a geographical relevance which we hope you will find interesting. You can also use the locations as examples in your work. As the cameras are live, the images will change regularly, so that you may find that scenes have complete changed the next time you view them. For example, in mountainous locations, cloud can arrive or clear in just minutes. You will also see hourly, daily, weekly and seasonal changes in landscapes and the activities of people.
Before you look at live webcams, it is important to consider the time of day in the location that you wish to view. Places that are west of the UK, such as the USA, may still be in darkness in our morning. Places to the east of us, such as China will be in darkness earlier than us so you may wish to view them early. Some of the webcams in towns and cities can be viewed at day or night. The World Timer will help you find out which places are in daylight or in darkness at the moment.
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My favourite Webcam (below) is from South Georgia in sub-Antarctica
Look out for penguins and elephant seals! click here
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| 1 | The Weather in the British Isles Today
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 You must have notice that the weather in Britain changes considerably from day to day. It also changes from place to place across the British Isles.
When you have read this, go back to the Weather Webcam Map (below) and to investigate the weather at present in different locations around the British Isles. There are 14 different links to live webcams on the map, ranging from Fair Isle to the north of Scotland to St.Helier on the Isle of Jersey in the Channel Islands.
Your teacher may ask you to investigate a smaller number of places according to the weather conditions today and the time that you have available.
 UK Weather Webcams file-
In addition to 14 places, there are also three links to the Met Office Website , which will give you information that will help you to explain the weather at each location, and why it may be different to the weather at the other locations.
You will also notice that the map shows the relief of the British Isles. Mountains and hills can have a major effect on our weather, for example mountainous regions tend to attract more rainfall, but places downwind from mountains may be in a “rain shadow” and have less rainfall and more sunshine.
Below is a sheet which you can print out to record the different weather conditions from each webcam.
 Weather Webcam Recording Sheet PDF document-
Describing the weather from a webcam image is a matter of careful observation, plus a little guesswork. Do your best, but recognise the limitations of what you can see.
 Describing Weather from a Webcam Resource-
Explaining the weather from your observations can be quite difficult. Use the weather charts from the Met Office and the Webpage below to help you.
- Explaining the Weather from your Observations Resource
Homework Tasks
EITHER
1) If you have access to broadband Internet at home, repeat the exercise after school, or later in the week, to see what has changed. Can you explain the changes in weather from the changes in the patterns of pressure, wind and the changing positions of any fronts?
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2) The weather affects the way people behave and the things that they do, both in their work and in their leisure time. Choose THREE contrasting locations that you have looked at today on the webcams. Suggest how the weather may have affected what people have been doing at these three locations.  Find out more about today's weather from XCWeather file
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| This topic 2 | Time, Longitude, Latitude and Webcams
Use the interactive map below to see how the time of day or night changes around the globe at any one time.
You can also use the map to view and compare places away of different latitude.
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