Weather and climate affect the way people live. People may live in houses, huts, tents, igloos, houses on stilts, troglodyte caves or holes in the ground, or even outside with just a shelter. Building materials may be grass, mud, ice, bricks, wood and will be chosen because of the ease of finding and using that material, but also on how resistant it is to the particular weather experienced in that place.

In the desert, people such as the Bedouins of the Sahara live a nomadic life. They move from place to place in search of water and fodder for their animals. They live in tents, made of easily folded animal skins and woven materials, to make moving house easier.

Inuits living in the Arctic Circle sometimes build their homes out of snow. Igloos are quick to build. Blocks of snow are made into a circular base then more circles are added on top, each smaller than the last. An air hole is left at the top and an entrance tunnel built. Snow is such a good insulator that it keeps the inside of the igloo warm and snug though the outside walls stay frozen.

In the hot climate of Pakistan many houses have windcatchers on their roofs. These trap the wind and direct it down into the house to keep it cool. They are a simple but very effective system of natural air-conditioning.

In places where there is regular flooding, many people live on boats, or in houses built on stilts which keep them up above the high water levels.