Weather Around The World

By Year 3M

Weather Around the World, a play

Status: April 2024
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© Ana Martin Machado
 CAST – 24 children

Newsreader Girl
Weather Forecast Presenter Girl
English children Girl
Girl
Girl
Reporter Australia Boy
Australian boy Boy
Australian girl Girl
Reporter America Girl
American boy Boy
American girl Girl
Reporter Sahara Girl
Desert girl Girl
Desert boy Boy
Reporter China Girl
Chinese Girl Girl
Chinese Boy Boy
Reporter Arctic Girl
Chukchee boy Boy
Reporter Mexico Girl
Mexican girl Girl
Mexican boy Boy
Reporter Rainforest Girl
Yanomami girl (Guiomar) Girl

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Status: April 2024
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COSTUME SUGGESTIONS
Newsreader and Weather Forecast Presenter – elegant dress and jacket,
or formal skirt and shirt plus jacket
English children: street clothes, raincoats to pull on and umbrellas
Reporter Australia - suit / safari like suit and microphone
Liam, an Australian boy and Zoe, an Australian girl - circular wide
brimmed hat, half sleeve shirt, long shorts, and sunglasses
Reporter US - suit / conservative well dressed with microphone
Dan, a US boy - baseball cap, T-shirt, vest, shorts, skateboard, sunglasses,
bum bag slung across chest containing sunscreen
Karen, a US girl – fancy, “cool” clothes, stylish hat
Reporter Sahara – safari-like suit and microphone
Yasmin, a desert girl and Rashid, a desert boy – middle East Arabic sheik-
like tunic (see picture) and desert girl tunic (see 2 pictures)
Reporter China - suit / conservative well dressed with microphone
Hui Min, a Chinese girl and Liang, a Chinese boy – Chinese dress for the
girl, loose black trousers and Mao-neck shirt for the boy, plus Chinese
straw hats
Reporter Arctic – winter clothes
Anton, a Chukchee boy – fur and fur boots
Reporter Mexico - suit / casual holiday shirt with microphone
Lucía Camacho
Mexican girl: Esmeralda and boy: Alfredo - can be casual modern clothing
- tee-shirt and longer shorts or Mexican hat, colourful Mexican dress
Mar
Reporter Rainforest
Guiomar, a Yanomami girl – swimming costume under strings and paint

NOTE: ALL REPORTERS AND THE NEWSREADER CAN HOLD SCRIPTS.

Weather Around the World, a play

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 SET NOTES
Newsreader sits at a desk centre stage - front of desk shows a large label
- ‘Weather in the World Today’.
On each side of the news-desk sit 4 of the correspondent-and-foreign-
interviewee teams, in order of appearance from centre outwards.

Additional props - large scale map of the world with pointer used to
indicate the countries visited.
Large scale weather forecast map of the UK, symbols and pointer.
All characters should be given appropriate names.
Optional musical ‘news headlines’ introduction.

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Newsreader: Hello and welcome to Weather In the World Today, the BBC’s
specialist news program which brings you information about the weather
here, there and everywhere! This is your host Eliza Vallely! Tell us, Mary,
what is the weather forecast here in the UK?

Weather Forecast Presenter: Well, the weather in the South is going to

be sunny with wet spells. (points at map of UK, area of London, where there
is a sun with clouds )
The forecast in the West is going to be foggy (again points at map, symbol
of fog ) - then rain in buckets and pails!!! (sticks a big cloud with
rain)
There is going to be thunder in the East and the North East (once more
points at storm symbol in map).
And in the North there may be some snow (points towards Scotland in map,
where there is a symbol of snow ) and a possibility of sleet!

SONG 1: Raindrops keep falling on my head

All children sing
Sarah, Sylvia and Lucy dance choreography with umbrellas
Duration: 3:03 mins

Sarah: It doesn’t look too good here in England does it?!! Perhaps England
is not the best place to be at the moment!! And with the summer holidays
coming up, maybe it’s time to go away! But where?

Sylvia: Well, we could go anywhere! The sunny Sahara. The Brazilian

rainforest. We could go watch the northern lights in the Arctic…

Lucy: What about an Australian beach? Or perhaps visit the Great Wall of
China? Mexico? The United States of America?

Sarah: Blimey! Those places have such different climates!!

Sylvia: Climates? Do you mean different weather conditions?

Sarah: More or less. The climate of a place consists of the meteorological

conditions, or weather conditions, including temperature, precipitation
(that is the rain!) and wind, that prevail in a particular region.

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Sylvia: What do you mean by “prevail”?

Sarah: She means that those weather conditions are normal in that
particular region, so they also allow specific animals and plants to live
happily there.

Sylvia: Hmmm… In that case I find it difficult to decide where to go.

Newsreader: Absolutely no problem…. Let’s just consult our

correspondents in different regions of the world investigating different
climatic zones. They will update us on what the weather is like in those
areas. Then you just have to decide which is your favourite part of the
world…. How’s about that?

Lucy: That would be lovely. We are all ears. (the three girls sit down)

Presenter: Shall we go first to Australia?

Newsreader: That’s a great idea. Going straight to Australia, Mark, your

report please.

REPORTER AUSTRALIA: I’m here in Sydney, Australia with Liam and Zoe.
Hi there, Liam!

AUSTRALIAN BOY: Good-day mate.

REPORTER AUSTRALIA: And a good day to you as well, Zoe.

AUSTRALIAN GIRL: How ya goin', Mark?

REPORTER AUSTRALIA: Going well, thanks! Tell us, is it hot in Australia?

AUSTRALIAN BOY: Struth mate you could fry an egg on the street!

REPORTER AUSTRALIA: So what do you do to protect yourself in the

sun?

AUSTRALIAN GIRL: Oh that’s easy - Slip slap slop - slip on a tee shirt,
slap on a hat, and slop on some sunscreen.

REPORTER AUSTRALIA: There you have it, Aussie know-how.

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NEWSREADER: Thank you Mark, that’s some good advice from Australia.

Lucy: So then, is Australia a bit like Spain, or Italy? Is it like the countries
in the south of Europe?

Sarah: (shrugging) I guess so!

PRESENTER: No, girls, wait. Have a look here in the world map. As you
probably know, the closer a place is to this line, which is the Equator, the
warmer its climate. Australia is a very big country, and it has this other
line, called the Tropic of Capricorn, running through it. The climate near
these lines is generally called tropical. Tropical climates are warm, but not
exactly like Spain or Italy, which have what is called the Mediterranean
climate.

Newsreader: We actually have a correspondent in another tropical region,

Mexico, who could explain it for us. Claire, here at the BBC studio we need
an explanation. What is a tropical climate like?

REPORTER MEXICO: Hi, Julia! I’m here with Esmeralda and Alfredo, two
Mexican children. Esmeralda, would you like to tell us a bit about the
climate here?

Mexican girl: The Tropic of Cancer cuts across Mexico near Mazatlan and
Ciudad Victoria and south of the tropic it’s hot and humid all year long along
the coastal plains on either side of the country. The hot, wet season runs
from May to October with the hottest and wettest months falling between
June and September for most of the country.

REPORTER MEXICO: So then it’s hot and humid?

Mexican boy: Not everywhere. Northwestern Mexico and the inland

northern areas are drier than the rest of the country. Inland it is hot in
the summer but, in the winter, the north winds can make the weather chilly,
with temperatures sometimes approaching freezing.

REPORTER MEXICO: I hope this has helped. Mexico is a big country and
not all of it has a tropical climate, as you have seen. But the part near the
Tropic of Cancer is generally hot and humid. Back to the studio!

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NEWSREADER: We have a correspondent in the Sahara desert who could
tell us what the desert climate is like. Africa, could you tell us what it’s like
over there?

REPORTER SAHARA: I’m here with Yasmin and Rashid. Rashid, would you
like to tell us why you are dressed as you are?

SAHARAWI BOY: Well, our clothes are specially designed to keep away
the heat. This loose-fitting robe is a “thoub”. It’s light and breezy to keep
me cool. In the hot season we wear white or beige “thoubs” (/zuubs/)
because the colour reflects the sunlight. In the winter however we wear
dark brown or black because these colours absorb sunlight.

Saharawi girl: On the head, we wear a “ghutrah”. It is a white cloth,

typically white for the men, and colourful for the women. It covers the
head and back of the neck, and this loose part (picks up part of the cloth)
can also be used to protect the face from dust or sand storms, because the
material it is made of is thin, so you can breathe through it.

Saharawi boy: Sand storms can be really strong, and you find all sorts of
things blowing in the wind. Just like in the song...

SONG 2: Blowing in the wind

All children sing
Duration: 3:06 mins

REPORTER SAHARA: Nice song! Tell us Yasmin, is it always hot in the

desert?

Saharawi girl: Not at all! One of the characteristics of desert climate is

extreme dryness. Only some plants can survive in this climate, although we
have areas with water which are called oases. However, the difference in
temperature between day and night can be of up to 28 degrees Celsius! So
at night it can be quite cold

REPORTER SAHARA: So Rashid, how hot can it get during the day?

Saharawi boy: It can get as hot as 45º C.

REPORTER SAHARA: That’s really hot! The Tropic of Cancer, the top one,

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which runs through Mexico, also runs through the Sahara desert. Isabel,
can you show us on the map back at the studio?
(Isabel points at the position of the Sahara desert in Africa)
But here, the absence of water causes this extreme dryness that Yasmin
was telling us about. And, before I go, there is one more question I want to
ask. Did you know that there are hot and cold deserts? Back to the studio
then!

Newsreader: That’s an excellent observation, Africa! We actually have a

correspondent in the Arctic who can tell us about this. Sophie?

REPORTER ARCTIC: Good morning, Julie! Yes, Africa is right, polar

climates are sometimes considered “the cold desert” because plants find it
almost as hard to live here as in the desert. Both are extreme climates and
only animals and plants that are adapted to this kind of climate can survive
here! I would like to introduce the viewers to Anton, a Chukchi boy. Anton,
can you tell us who the Chukchi are?

Chukchi boy: Hi Sophie! Well, I live in Chukotka in the east of Siberia and
the Chukchi are my people.

Reporter Arctic: Can you tell us what the weather is like here?

Chukchi boy: It’s really cold, but we Chukchi know how to protect ourselves
in this climate.

Reporter Arctic: What do you do?

Chukchi boy: We could not survive without our friends the reindeer. We
wear their skin, our boots are also made of reindeer skin, and it is the
reindeer who pull our “narts”, our wooden sledges. Do you want to know
what my favourite game is?

Reporter Arctic: Of course!

Chukchi boy: I pretend to be a reindeer and my friends Ura and Costya

have to try and catch me with their lassoes. It’s really fun!

Reporter Arctic: It does sound like fun, Anton! Back to the studio for now,
brrrr!

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Newsreader: Wait, Sophie! We have a little song for you to listen to. You
can join in if you want and perhaps it will warm you up!

SONG 3: Here comes the sun

All children sing
Duration: 3:04 mins

Newsreader: So, on the topic of sun, we have a correspondent in New York,

Mary, who is interviewing US citizens about the heat wave over there.

REPORTER New York: Yes, Julie, I’m here in New York, USA with Dan and
Karen.

US boy: Yo dude.

US girl: Hiya!

REPORTER NEW YORK: So, Dan, are summers hot in New York?

US BOY: Hey man, tell me something I don’t know. This is one hot city but
I am one cool dude.

US GIRL: And I am one cool girl!

REPORTER NEW YORK: You say you stay cool, Karen, how do you manage
that?

US GIRL: Well, for once, we girls like to chat, right? So we hang out in the
shade.

US BOY: And I got my gear man; got the pants, the vest; wear my team on
my head and my screen (pulls sunscreen out of bum-bag) and my shades.

REPORTER NEW YORK: There you have it; New York has it covered, back
to the studio, Julie.

NEWSREADER: Thank you, Mary. But listen, is it hot everywhere in the

USA at the moment?

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REPORTER NEW YORK: Not at all! Isabel could you show us where Alaska
is in the map?

Weather Forecast Presenter: (Standing up and moving to the world map.)

That would be a pleasure! Over here. (Points at Alaska in map.)

REPORTER NEW YORK: Thank you. Well, Alaska has a polar climate
because it is within the Arctic circle, just like Chukotka, where Sophie was
reporting from. In fact, Sophie, Anton, did you know that the Chukchi have
a sea named after them? (Sophie and Anton nod.) Reindeer-hunting Chukchi
like Anton have cousins living in the coast who traditionally went fishing,
whaling and also hunting walrus!

Newsreader: As you see our correspondents have wide geographical

knowledge! Now we move to the Far East.

REPORTER CHINA: Welcome or as the Chinese say ‘fon ying’. I’m in

Beijing, capital city of China with Hui Min and Liang.

CHINESE GIRL AND BOY: Ni Hao.

REPORTER CHINA: Can you tell me about summer weather in China?

CHINESE GIRL: Well it’s very, very hot but then we get very, very heavy
rain.

REPORTER CHINA: So how do you cope with this weather?

CHINESE BOY: In China we can wear a ‘saw lup’ - a straw hat, it protects
our heads from the sun and it keeps us dry in the rain.

CHINESE GIRL: And if we didn’t have this kind of weather, our food would
not grow well! Rice crops need a lot of rain!

Reporter China: Indeed! So there you have it, that’s what’s happening in
China, Julie.

NEWSREADER: Interesting! Sun and rain… I think we have a song for you
that combines these two kinds of weather!

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 SONG 4: Fire and Rain
All children sing
Duration: 3:25 mins

Weather Forecast Presenter: Well, girls, have you made up your mind
about where to go?

Sylvia: Hmmm… It might be nice to go to Mexico.

Sarah: I think I might like to visit China.

Lucy: I’m not quite sure yet. And I was wondering… (directing the question
at Newsreader) Do you have any correspondents near the Equator? We’ve
seen desert climate, polar climate, tropical climate… What’s it like right in
the middle of the globe?

Newsreader: Funny you should say that! We have one last correspondent in
the Amazonia, right in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest. Liz, how are
you doing?

Reporter Rainforest: Hello, Julie! Here in the Amazonian rainforest I am

speaking to Guiomar, a Yanomami girl.

Yanomami girl: Hello! I would like to introduce you all to my pet monkey,
Yarima.

Reporter Rainforest: Can you tell us about your home, Guiomar?

Yanomami girl: Our home is very beautiful. We call it the “yano”. Our whole
village lives together, there are about a hundred of us. There’s a big space
in the middle of the “yano” that is open to the sky. This is where we have
parties and dance.

Reporter Rainforest: Sounds like fun! And where do you sleep?

Yanomami girl: We sleep in hammocks, which are very comfortable. The

weather is warm and humid all year around, so we only need fires to cook.

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As you see we don’t wear T-shirts or trousers or jackets, we don’t need
them! But we do like to paint our bodies and our faces.

Reporter Rainforest: Fascinating stuff! Thanks so much for sharing your

culture with us! Back to the studio, Julie!

Newsreader: Well, we have run out of time for today’s program of

“Weather Around the World Today”. But before we go, we have one last
song for you!

SONG 5: I am the Earth

All children sing
Duration: 3:44 mins

Weather Around the World, a play

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