🌍Climate vs Weather🌦️
Weather and climate both describe the atmosphere, but over very different timescales. One is what you see today; the other is what you expect over decades.
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🌍Climate
- ✓The long-term average of weather over decades
- ✓Measured over periods of 30 years or more
- ✓Describes typical conditions for a region
- ✓Changes slowly and reflects broad trends
- ✓Examples: a desert climate or a tropical climate
🌦️Weather
- ✓The state of the atmosphere at a given moment
- ✓Measured over hours and days
- ✓Describes current temperature, rain, wind and clouds
- ✓Changes quickly and is hard to predict far ahead
- ✓Examples: a rainy afternoon or a sunny morning
Verdict
Weather is what you get on a particular day; climate is what you expect on average. A cold day does not disprove a warming climate — climate is the long-run pattern behind daily weather.
Frequently asked
How long must you observe to measure climate?+
At least 30 years of data is the standard period for defining a region's climate.
Does a cold day disprove climate change?+
No. Climate is a decades-long average; a single cold day is just short-term weather.
Why is weather hard to predict far ahead?+
The atmosphere is chaotic, so tiny uncertainties grow rapidly beyond about a week or two.
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