Field Trip

Geography Field Trip to Changi Airport:

During the March holidays, our Geography teacher Mr Lim brought us to the Changi Airport to learn about the meteorologist.

After a short break, we were accompanied by a lady and she brought us to the MET office to see how they work. First of all, we were given a short briefing about the MET which people were monitoring about the weather conditions such as haze, thunderstorm, rain etc. They have graphs which display the climate change, the type of weather climates occurring in Singapore. The briefing gave us the basic knowledge about the different processes the MET used to collect the data about the climate.

Now I am going to share about the different instruments that I have learnt during the briefing. The first one is the weather radar. It is huge in size with four legs on the ground and a spherical ball shaped object on the top. The object has a diameter of eight metres. Another one is the satellites which help to capture the pictures of the earth, it is used in recording of weather climates. The data collected is processed and analysed in computers by the staffs working in the MET. It is then sent to places which have agricultures, transport etc. Lastly we also get to know places such as Upper Air Observatory. At that place, balloons were released to the sky as they carried machines to collect different data. It is carried out twice a day, 0730 and 1800.

We were also showed a video which displays a big storm happened in 2001. It is rare which happens once in 100 to 400 years. The storm was travelling from Sea towards Singapore. But when it reached the shore, it starts to die down. After the briefing, we also get to know many weather equipments such as barograph, rain gauge, sunshine recorder etc.




What I have learnt:

From this field trip, I have learnt about the different types of weather equipments, graphs etc. I have also learnt the safety precautions when I encountered a thunderstorm in an open space. When the sky turns grey, it is best to hurry or find shelter as a thunder storm is approaching. When it starts to pour, do not seek shelter under a tall, isolated tree as you may get shocked. Instead, find shelter under small clumps of trees. Stop swimming or carry out any activities during a thunderstorm. Do not use any electrical appliances as well, especially telephones with cords. When your hairs stand up, a lightning might be about to hit you. Immediately crouch down on the balls of your feet and try to make yourself as small as possible.