| | | Climate and weather are related but distinct concepts in meteorology:
- Weather: Weather refers to the atmospheric conditions at a specific place and time, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, and atmospheric pressure. It describes the short-term variations in the atmosphere, typically over hours to days.
- Climate: Climate, on the other hand, refers to the average weather conditions in a region over a long period of time—typically 30 years or more. It encompasses the statistical description of weather patterns (such as average temperatures, precipitation levels, humidity) as well as their variations over longer timescales (seasonal and annual variations, trends, extremes).
To summarize:
- Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, etc.
- Climate is the long-term average of weather patterns in a region, typically measured over decades.
When we talk about "cumulative weather over thirty years," we are essentially describing climate. Climate is not just the sum of weather events over time but rather the statistical representation of these events and their variations over a significant period. It provides a broader understanding of what can be expected in terms of weather patterns in a particular region over a longer span of time.
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