Learn why winter is cold through simple steps and easy explanations for young children.
Winter is the chilly time of the year, and here's why it gets cold!
The Earth is not straight up and down; instead, it tilts a little bit on its axis, which is like a big imaginary line that goes from the North Pole to the South Pole. This tilt causes different parts of the Earth to get sunlight at different angles throughout the year.
In winter, the part of the Earth where you live is tilted away from the Sun. This means that the sunlight hits that part at a very slanted angle, making it less warm. Think of it like shining a flashlight: when you shine it directly at something, it’s bright and warm, but if you shine it at a side, it’s dim and cool.
During winter, the days are also shorter, which means there is less time for the Sun to warm up the Earth. The Sun rises later in the morning and sets earlier in the evening.
With less sunlight and shorter days, the air gets cold. Cold air feels chilly when you go outside, and that’s why we need to wear warm clothes like jackets, hats, and gloves in winter!
Sometimes, when it gets really cold, you may see snow or ice outside. This happens when the moisture in the air freezes because of the low temperatures. Snow is just frozen water that falls from the clouds.
So, winter is cold because the Earth’s tilt makes the sunlight weaker on our part of the planet, and we have shorter days. When we put all that together, it explains why we bundle up to stay warm!