World Building: How To Use Weather and Seasons to Shape Your World

‍

‍

Look out the window. What do you see? That’s the weather. I know it's pretty obvious but it's quite important! It is everywhere all the time. Weather, climate and seasons are far more than just, do I need to put sun cream on today? Or, will an umbrella come in handy later? 

Weather, climate, and seasons aren’t just atmospheric backdrops. They’re characters in their own right, influencing everything: from the way people dress, to how they trade, fight, live, and die. It is one of the most important factors driving nearly every facet of life. So when building your world and writing a story be sure to check the forecast.

In this blog, we’re going to explore how you can use weather and climate as dynamic tools that can help to shape your world.

‍

1. Your Climate Emergency

When you think about your world’s climate, start by deciding what dominates your landscape and what that says about your character and story.

‍

• Do you have multiple climates, or is there a single climate zone that defines everything?

• Is it a land of tropical rainforests? Frozen tundras? Maybe a boiling desert or a vast ocean? Or all of the above and more?

‍

Climate isn’t just the backdrop for your world. It defines how people live, what they eat, how they fight, and even who survives.

Imagine a tropical island where everything is lush, but plagued by seasonal hurricanes. Or a land of nearly eternal winter where trade can only happen in brief summer months.

The climate is your world’s first constraint, and your characters’ first obstacle.

A changing world is an interesting world. Change within your characters is what drives a story and gives it structure. Why should the climate be any different?

‍

• Is your world experiencing climate change? Is there drought in once fertile areas, or maybe extreme winters where summers used to reign?

• How are your people responding? Do they fight against it with technology or adapt through new ways of life?

‍

Climate change shapes history, it drives migration, creates conflicts, and reshapes the map.

‍

2. Seasons Greetings

The changing of seasons is a useful tool to demonstrate the passage of time. The changing seasons are a useful tool in showing an internal change within your characters. The changing seasons are a useful tool in showing the growing stakes in your story. Pretty much the changing of seasons are useful shorthand for many aspects of writing.

‍

• Does your world have distinct seasons?

• Spring, summer, autumn, winter: are they as we know them, or do you have something strange? A never-ending harvest season? Or a world that skips winter entirely?

• If your world has unique seasons, what causes them? Is it the tilt of the planet? A magical influence? The orbit of twin suns?

‍

These seasonal shifts influence everything:

‍

• Agriculture: What crops can grow? How does the change in seasons affect food availability?

• Architecture: Are houses designed to withstand brutal winters or long dry spells?

• Daily Life: How do people plan their activities around the seasonal changes?

• Fashion: Do your characters need to put on a lovely kagool?

‍

‍

‍

‍

3. Singing In The Rain

Rain, snow, sun. As with the seasons, the weather can be a very fast useful short hand to immediately create a mood and set the tone of your world and story, as well as being a great obstacle for your characters to overcome.

‍

• What types of weather are common in your world? Think beyond the basics, maybe acid rain, frost storms, eternal fog, or fire rains.

• Is there any fantastical weather unique to your world? You could have living storms or rains that bring strange, glowing plants to life.

‍

The weather is an active player in your story. It can add tension, beauty, danger, or comfort.

Consider how the weather shapes:

‍

• Daily life: Are people huddled inside most of the year, or do they take to the streets during extreme heat or bitter cold?

• Conflict: A storm might ruin a crucial battle. Extreme cold or an avalanche might keep people from crossing a mountain pass.

‍

4. Universal Health Care

Flu season, summer colds, winter blues. The weather doesn’t just impact comfort, it impacts health.

‍

• What kinds of diseases thrive in certain climates? Perhaps tropical regions are a breeding ground for mosquito-borne illnesses, while the cold might create a world where everyone sneezes all the time.

• Are there medical adaptations to these weather-related challenges? Cures, vaccinations, quarantine zones?

‍

Also, mental health matters: prolonged heat can lead to irritability, while constant rain might breed depression. Let your climate shape not just the sky, the land and the bodies of your inhabitants but also their minds.

‍

5. I’ve Got A Brand New Combine Harvester

In a world where survival often depends on what grows, climate and seasons become critical.

‍

• What crops are grown, and where?

• How does the weather’s effect on fertile land influence where people settle?

• What farming techniques are required to survive in extreme climates?

‍

Maybe a certain plant only grows during the short summer in the northern regions, while the desert people rely on irrigation systems.

And when the seasons change, what does it do to the food supply? Does a poor harvest lead to starvation, or is food stored and preserved carefully during the good seasons?

‍

‍

‍

‍

6. The Wrath Of Nature

To my knowledge no story has ever been written about a normal Tuesday afternoon in the city of Pompeii… well, that’s not true, many of those stories have been written but they all end in lava.

‍

• Does your world experience floods, earthquakes, droughts, or tornadoes?

• How do people adapt to these threats? Do certain regions build earthquake-resistant buildings, or do communities relocate after every season of devastating floods?

‍

Bad things happen. No world is perfect. Things kick off. Use natural disasters to disrupt societies, raise the stakes, create obstacles and create the heroes. Just be careful to not stray in Deus Ex Machina and have the disasters come out of the blue (even though they often do in real life). You need to establish and set them up so they don’t feel like a cheap trick.

‍

7. On The Road

The mountain pass has been blocked by an avalanche and now your fellowship need to go through the scary, dangerous mines. Oh dear. 

Seasons, weather, and climate all influence where people go and how they get there.

‍

• Do harsh winters drive people to migrate to warmer areas, or do long summers bring caravans north for trading?

• What transportation methods are best suited for your weather? Are there flying ships, or can people ride massive migratory animals across the desert?

‍

The weather doesn’t just affect daily life, it guides the flow of people, goods, and power.

‍

‍

‍

‍

8. Weather, Witches and Wizards

A wizard has caused an avalanche that has blocked the mountain pass and now your fellowship need to go through the scary, dangerous mines. Oh dear.

If magic is a part of your world, then weather and climate should feel its power.

‍

• Do wizards control the rain, or can a powerful sorcerer summon storms?

• Are there magical phenomena that alter the climate? Maybe certain regions are stuck in eternal summer because of an ancient spell.

‍

Conclusion

Weather, climate and seasons are not just background dressing or an afterthought. They can be one of the most powerful tools in your world building arsenal. They can shape everything: they can sculpt landscapes, drive migrations, inspire myths, start wars, end empires, and make people grumble about the rain. They offer rhythm, mood, and stakes. They can make your world turn, or even make it stop.

So make your storms howl, your suns shine, and your winters bite. Let your characters sweat, shiver, adapt, and overcome.

Let your weather vain point your world building in the right direction.

‍

More World Building

Are you keen to dive even deeper? You can download our World Building Worksheet and World Building Document for free from our Resources store. These documents explore everything you’ve just read, and much, much, much, much more…

Other blogs in our World Building series include:

• How to Build a Map That Shapes Your World
• How to Choose the Right Genre (and Make It Your Own)
• How to Build Characters That Shape Your World

‍