Anyone confused or skeptical about \u201cClimate Change\u201d? Is weather different from climate?<\/p>\n
\u201cClimate is what you expect, weather is what you get<\/strong>.\u201d \u201cClimate lasts all the time, and weather only a few days<\/strong>.\u201d Both of these often repeated quotations indicate there is a difference between climate and weather.<\/p>\n Climate and weather should not be confused. People are often heard linking an unusually hot day (Weather) to global warming (Climate Change) or equally absurd suggesting that a particularly cold day (Weather) proves that global warming (Climate Change) is a hoax. Neither is a valid inference.<\/p>\n First of all, weather is what\u2019s happening now, the present conditions typically described by temperature, wind, humidity, atmospheric (barometric) pressure, cloud cover, etc. Weather people get their information by reading instruments such as thermometers (air temperature); anemometers (wind speed), barometers (atmospheric pressure), gas chromatographs (ozone levels), satellite photos (cloud cover), rain gauges (precipitation), yard sticks (snowfall), etc.<\/p>\n Climate on the other hand is commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period of time. The standard averaging period is 30 years, but the averaging period can range from months to thousands or millions of years depending on the objective. Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elements in a given region over a long period of time. Climate also includes statistics other than the average, such as the magnitudes of day-to-day or year-to-year variations.<\/p>\n So when the \u201cWeatherperson\u201d compares today\u2019s temperature with the \u201cnormal\u201d temperature (or the record high and low temperature), they are comparing today\u2019s weather with the historical climate of the region. When the Weatherperson compares the recent annual rainfall with the historical\/average annual rainfall, they are comparing this year\u2019s weather with the probably climate for the region based on historical records. \u2022 the temperature is 80 F, Climate data (average weather) you will often see on TV weather for a local region include:<\/p>\n \u2022 the average high for today is 50 F, The weather is usually different than what is expected using climate data because climate data is a long term average. For example, the temperature tends to either be above normal or below normal. When it comes to rainfall and snowfall it tends to rain or snow more or less than what is expected from the average provided by climatology.<\/p>\n Conclusion:<\/strong> As lay-weather-people, we can monitor weather changes by looking at our outdoor thermometer. However to comment on climate change, we need to do the statistical math using weather data over a long period of time (e.g. 30 years) OR rely on credible climatologists\/meteorologists (who have no vested interests that might taint their math \u2013 i.e. figures lie when liars figure).<\/p>\n
\n….\u00a0 \u00a0Robert Heinlein, American science fiction author<\/p>\n
\n…..\u00a0 Mark Twain,<\/p>\n
\nExamples:
\n<\/strong>Weather data you will often see on TV weather include the current conditions and those expected in the near term (e.g. 5 day forecast) for a local region such as:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 it should rain tomorrow,
\n\u2022 the low today will be 40 F, and
\n\u2022 it is partly cloudy.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 it is hot and humid in the summer,
\n\u2022 the yearly average precipitation is 37.45 inches, and
\n\u2022 the average November snowfall is 12 inches.<\/p>\n