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Difference Between Weather and Climate

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weather_vs_climate

The main difference between these two terms is the duration. The weather is the day-to-day or short-term condition of the changes in the atmosphere. And, the climate is the average weather condition of a particular place over a long time, about 30 years.

Like for instance, we talk about the weather in terms of “hot it will be today?” “Will it rain or not”? Or “What about the snowstorm this week”?. On the other hand, we observe climate changes in terms of years, decades and centuries and include statistical weather information.

Weather and climate are always interrelated words and are a bit confusing too. We check the weather forecast for our place to plan our days. Global warming and Climate change are very hot topics in the news around the world. And scientists are concerned about such variations in the climate of different places.

Observing the weather-changing patterns and global climate changes, it is uncertain to say that whether the sudden change in the weather on any particular day was the effect of climate change.

According to the study and research, our Earth is warming with high rate than it was in the past. At this moment we will be comparing the two terms which are ‘weather and climate’ with a brief description of them.

Content: Weather Vs Climate

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison WeatherClimate
Meaning
Weather is day-to-day information of the changes in the atmospheric condition in any area.Climate is statistical weather information that provides information about the average weather condition of a particular place over a long period.
Duration

The short term atmospheric condition of any place is the weather, which may vary by time-to-time.
The long term average weather atmospheric condition of a place or country is the climate.
Affected By

Weather is affected by temperature, pressure, humidity, cloudiness, wind, precipitation, rain, flooding, ice storms, etc.
The climate is the long term observations of the atmospheric conditions at any location like humidity, temperature, the sunshine, wind, etc.
It affects the
The weather may affect the day-to-day occupation, and it may hamper transportation services, agriculture, etc. Climate significantly affects agriculture, industries, the livelihood of the peoples.
Changes observed
The changes in the weather condition can be observed very frequently.
The changes in climate take a longer time to change.
Studied by

Weather forecasting is observed by the Meteorological Department of any particular place, and the study is known as Meteorology.
The Climate Prediction Centre predicts climate and its study is known as Climatology.

Definition of Weather

Weather is the short-term atmospheric conditions of any particular place, day and time. Although the entire Earth is covered by only one atmosphere, the weather is not the same all around the place. The weather may variate over minutes, hours and days in different places of the world. Nowadays, it’s very to easily predict the weather at a given time and location.
weather
The changes in the weather are mostly observed in the place that is closest to the ground known as Troposphere. The factors which are responsible for causing these changes are:
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Direction
  • Air pressure

Definition of Climate

Climate conditions, describe larger areas- like countries, or cities. It is the average of weather conditions over a long time and space. The record of the climate is also maintained by the respective centres of that particular place.
For instance, the hottest day, the coldest day, or the amount of rainfall. All these records help in predicting the climate of the upcoming time by comparing the records of the last few years. Mainly it is observed on the averages of over 30 years.

climate_img

 
Different regions vary with the different climates and depend on the factors of weather like
  • Humidity
  • Temperature
  • Precipitation
  • Rainfall
Weather effects are for a few minutes or hours, but climate change is for a long duration. It occurs due to the events like El Niño, which happens for several years thus resulting in many greater fluctuations occurring over decades. Gradually the climate changes that occur take hundreds and thousands of years.
 
The study of climate change shows how the change in day-to-day weather events is affecting people and their livelihoods. It is expected there will be a rise in global temperatures, which will ultimately lead to an increase in sea levels and a change in precipitation patterns.
 
It will also impact the local climate conditions, and their crop yields, forest, and water supplies as well as human and animal health and the whole ecosystem.

Key Differences Between Weather and Climate

  1. Weather is day-to-day information on the changes in the atmospheric conditions in any location for a particular time. On the other hand, the climate is statistical weather information of a particular location over a long period of time, for a span of more than 30 years.
  2. Weather is the short-term atmospheric condition of any place, which may vary by time-to-time. For example throughout the night or day. Whereas, the climate is the long-term average weather atmospheric condition of a place or country.
  3. The factors like temperature, pressure, humidity, cloudiness, wind, precipitation, rain, flooding, ice storms, etc. affect the weather. While the climate is the long-term observations of the atmospheric conditions at any location.
  4. The weather may affect the day-to-day occupation as it may hamper transportation services, agriculture, etc. Whereas climate greatly affects agriculture, industries, and the livelihood of the people as it is for the long term.
  5. You can observe Changes in the weather conditions very frequently. But the changes in climate take a longer time to occur.
  6. Meteorological Department monitors Weather conditions and does the weather forecasting of any particular place. In contrast, there are specific climate prediction centres for climate prediction.
  7. The study is known as Meteorology while that of climate is known as Climatology.

Conclusion

Weather and climate seem to be interchangeable at some level, as they are affected by almost the same elements, but we came to know that the duration of occurrence is what makes them different. We can sum up by saying that “weather is what you get, but the climate is what you expect”.

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  4. Difference Between Anatomy and Physiology
  5. Difference Between Phenotype and Genotype

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