What preparations would you make before going for the field visit ? Prepare a questionnaire to visit a weather station.

Answer: A field visit has to be planned in advance so that information is collected systematically and safely.

Preparations:

• Decide the purpose and the place of the visit, and get the permission of the authorities of the place and of the school.
• Collect information about the place from books, maps, the internet and newspapers; prepare a rough map and a route plan.
• Prepare a questionnaire and take a notebook, pen, camera, measuring tape, compass and, if needed, a soil or water testing kit.
• Arrange transport, food, drinking water, a first-aid box and a charged mobile phone; find out about the weather of the day.
• Divide the students into groups and assign duties; tell them what to observe, how to behave and how to record the data.
• Take care of safety rules: stay with the group, follow the guide and do not touch machines or instruments without permission.

Questionnaire for a weather station:

• Since when has this weather station been working, and which area does it serve?
• Which instruments are kept here — thermometer, barometer, rain gauge, wind vane, anemometer, hygrometer, sunshine recorder?
• How and at what time are temperature, rainfall, humidity, air pressure and wind direction recorded every day?
• Where are the instruments kept, and how are they protected from direct sunlight and strong wind?
• How is the data sent to the Meteorological Department, and who uses this data?
• Which seasons show the highest and the lowest temperature and rainfall, and what is the average rainfall of this place?
• Have any cyclones, heat waves or floods been recorded here, and how are warnings given to the people?
• What training is required to work in a weather station?