1 The environment

acid rain	rain that contains harmful chemicals from factory gases and that damages trees, crops and buildings	Acid rain is very harmful to sea creatures.	happosade
biodiversity	the existence of a large number of different kinds of animals and plants which make a balanced environment	Biodiversity might be at risk in some places with rising temperatures.	biodiversiteetti/luonnon monimuotoisuus
carbon footprint	a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced by the activities of a person or company	A great way to reduce your carbon footprint is to avoid using airplanes.	hiilijalanjälki
climate crisis	a situation in which immediate action is needed to reduce or stop climate change and prevent serious and permanent damage to the environment	Some people don't take our current climate crisis seriously.	ilmasto kriisi
conservation	the protection of the natural environment	Conservation of endangered species, like rhinos, is crucial for the diversity of nature.	ympäristösuojelu
ecological	connected with the relation of plants and living creatures to each other and to their environment	The ecological balance is of this place might be in danger if we start doing research.	ekologinen
sustainable	involving the use of natural products and energy in a way that does not harm the environment	Many brands are constantly creating sustainable products and ideas.	ympäristöä säästävä/kestävä
ozone layer	a layer of ozone high above the earth’s surface that helps to protect the earth from harmful radiation from the sun	There was a hole found in the ozone layer over Antarctica.	otsonikerros
reuse	to use something again	There are many everyday household items you can reuse easily, like glass jars or metal cans.	käyttää uudelleen
radioactive	sending out powerful and very dangerous rays when the nuclei (= central parts) of atoms are broken up	Radioactive waste is extremely dangerous and harmful to the environment if it is not recycled properly.	radioaktiivinen

2 Geography

zone	an area or a part of an object, especially one that is different from everything that is around it	He was on a research trip on what they called "a danger zone" because of the active volcano.	alue/vyöhyke
altitude	the height above sea level	The plain was advised to fly at a higher altitude because of the waves.	korkeus
clearing	an open space in a forest where there are no trees	We decied to camp out on a clearing in the woods.	aukio/metsäaukea
continental	of or in the continent of Europe, not including Britain and Ireland	Her family went to a popular continental nature reserve on their holday.	mantereinen
high tide	the time when the sea has risen to its highest level in a particular place; the sea at this time	We forgot it was high tide and went on a walk on the beach at night.	nousivesi/vuoksi
upstate	in a part of a state that is far from its main cities, especially a northern part	What is the biodiversity in upstate New York like?	osavaltion pohjoispuoli
glacial	caused or made by glaciers; connected with glaciers	The glacial landscape we saw in Lapland was amazing.	jäinen
tidal wave	a very large ocean wave that is caused by a storm or an earthquake, and that destroys things when it reaches the land	Tidal waves can cause a lot of damage, it can even destroy towns.	hyökyaalto
shoreline	the edge of the sea, the ocean or a lake	Their team cleaned up a shoreline filled with plastic.	vedenraja
volcanic	caused or produced by a volcano	We saw volcanic rocks on our trip.	vulkaaninen

3 Weather

sprinkle	if it sprinkles, it rains lightly	Before the strom started it was just sprinkling.	tihkusade
unpredictable	that cannot be predicted because it changes a lot or depends on too many different things	The weather was so unpredictable so we were advised to stay indoors.	ennalta arvaamaton
typhoon	a violent tropical storm with very strong winds	Luckily he got to safety before the typhoon hit the town.	taifuuni
overcast	covered with clouds; not bright	She was glad it was overcast on her first day at her new gardening job so it wasn't too hot.	pilvinen taivas
monsoon	a period of heavy rain in summer in South Asia; the rain that falls during this period	This years monsoon is estimated to be worse from previous years.	monsuuni
lightning	a flash, or several flashes, of very bright light in the sky caused by electricity	A tree was struck by lightning near our house and it fell on a road which made the traffic worse.	salamointi
humidity	the amount of water in the air	The high humidity made hiking in the mountains quite draining.	ilmankosteus
heatwave	a period of unusually hot weather	Every year during the summer we get a heatwave in Finland and temperatures rise over 30°C.	helleaalto
hazy	not clear because of haze	Driving in the country side is difficult some mornings because it tends to be quite hazy.	usvainen
hail	when it hails, small balls of ice fall like rain from the sky	He fell asleep on the beach when it was sunny and woke up to hailing.	sataa rakeita