Weather vs. Climate

By Jaxson

Main Difference

The main difference between Weather and Climate is that the Weather is a state of the atmosphere and Climate is a statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods.

  • Weather

    Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the lowest level of the atmosphere, the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, “weather” is generally understood to mean the weather of Earth.

    Weather is driven by air pressure, temperature and moisture differences between one place and another. These differences can occur due to the sun’s angle at any particular spot, which varies with latitude. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the largest scale atmospheric circulations: the Hadley Cell, the Ferrel Cell, the Polar Cell, and the jet stream. Weather systems in the mid-latitudes, such as extratropical cyclones, are caused by instabilities of the jet stream flow. Because the Earth’s axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of the year. On Earth’s surface, temperatures usually range ±40 °C (−40 °F to 100 °F) annually. Over thousands of years, changes in Earth’s orbit can affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by the Earth, thus influencing long-term climate and global climate change.

    Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes, as most atmospheric heating is due to contact with the Earth’s surface while radiative losses to space are mostly constant. Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. The Earth’s weather system is a chaotic system; as a result, small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout history, and there is evidence that human activities such as agriculture and industry have modified weather patterns.

    Studying how the weather works on other planets has been helpful in understanding how weather works on Earth. A famous landmark in the Solar System, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, is an anticyclonic storm known to have existed for at least 300 years. However, weather is not limited to planetary bodies. A star’s corona is constantly being lost to space, creating what is essentially a very thin atmosphere throughout the Solar System. The movement of mass ejected from the Sun is known as the solar wind.

  • Climate

    Climate is the statistics of weather over long periods of time. It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these variables in a given region.

    A region’s climate is generated by the climate system, which has five components: atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used classification scheme was the Köppen climate classification. The Thornthwaite system, in use since 1948, incorporates evapotranspiration along with temperature and precipitation information and is used in studying biological diversity and how climate change affects it. The Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region.

    Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates. Since direct observations of climate are not available before the 19th century, paleoclimates are inferred from proxy variables that include non-biotic evidence such as sediments found in lake beds and ice cores, and biotic evidence such as tree rings and coral. Climate models are mathematical models of past, present and future climates. Climate change may occur over long and short timescales from a variety of factors; recent warming is discussed in global warming. Global warming results in redistributions. For example, “a 3°C change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately 300–400 km in latitude (in the temperate zone) or 500 m in elevation. Therefore, species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in latitude in response to shifting climate zones”.

Wikipedia
  • Weather (noun)

    The short term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc.

  • Weather (noun)

    Unpleasant or destructive atmospheric conditions, and their effects.

    “Wooden garden furniture must be well oiled as it is continuously exposed to weather.”

  • Weather (noun)

    The direction from which the wind is blowing; used attributively to indicate the windward side.

  • Weather (noun)

    A situation.

  • Weather (noun)

    A storm; a tempest.

  • Weather (noun)

    A light shower of rain.

  • Weather (adjective)

    Facing towards the flow of a fluid, usually air.

    “weather side, weather helm”

  • Weather (verb)

    To expose to the weather, or show the effects of such exposure, or to withstand such effects.

  • Weather (verb)

    To sustain the trying effect of; to bear up against and overcome; to endure; to resist.

  • Weather (verb)

    To break down, of rocks and other materials, under the effects of exposure to rain, sunlight, temperature, and air.

  • Weather (verb)

    To pass to windward in a vessel, especially to beat ’round.

    “to weather a cape; to weather another ship”

  • Weather (verb)

    To endure or survive an event or action without undue damage.

    “Joshua weathered a collision with a freighter near South Africa.”

  • Weather (verb)

    To place (a hawk) unhooded in the open air.

  • Climate (noun)

    An area of the earth’s surface between two parallels of latitude.

  • Climate (noun)

    A region of the Earth.

  • Climate (noun)

    The long-term manifestations of weather and other atmospheric conditions in a given area or country, now usually represented by the statistical summary of its weather conditions during a period long enough to ensure that representative values are obtained (generally 30 years).

  • Climate (noun)

    The context in general of a particular political, moral etc. situation.

    “Industries that require a lot of fossil fuels are unlikely to be popular in the current political climate.”

  • Climate (verb)

    To dwell.

Wiktionary

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