Climate Synthesis

Weather vs. Climate

Weather

Weather is whether. Whether or not it is raining. Whether or not it is hot or cold, windy or still, cloudy or sunny. Weather is what we see and experience when we look or step outside, and is the result of a complex dance of the Earth and atmosphere. The breathing of plants and animals, the exhaust from our cars, the evaporation of water from lakes and oceans.

Key Concepts:
1. Weather
2. Climate
3. Climate Change

Everything working together in the generation of weather patterns that, at the surface, might seem completely disconnected (UCAR Center for Science Education). The study of weather and the physics behind it, known as meteorology or atmospheric sciences, is in and of itself a complex understanding of physics and math that is not understood by many of us who look at our daily weather reports, and laugh when it is inevitably imperfect (The National Academies).

To study the weather is to study the Earth itself, and those who choose to study the weather must first understand that the reward is always in asking the questions. There will always be things we do not know, and surprises around every corner. It should surprise no one, then, when I tell you that most meteorologists are kids at heart, studying the air around them with the same childlike wonder that they felt the first time they heard a roar of thunder, or watched the movie “Twister” (NOAA). Should you find yourself around a meteorologist, asking them about their job is not a burden to them. It is an excuse to show you the wonder they see around them, in each rain drop that falls, and each gust of wind through the trees.

Climate

Climate is not weather, and yet it is. Climate is “the long term pattern of oceanic and atmospheric conditions at a location”(NOAA). Long term typically means a 30 year period, although in some instances other time lengths might be used. In this usage, climate is typically a statistical measure, and you cannot easily compare climate to daily weather. For instance, the climate in a region might show that the month of May receives on average 10 inches of rainfall. Between each day and year, it is unlikely that any May will receive exactly 10 inches. Instead, some might have more rain, and some might have less. That doesn’t mean we can’t connect weather to climate, but we must be careful when we do. If May only has 8 inches of rain, that might be within the typical variation. However, if this same area gets NO rain during several Mays, that is a large enough difference to make it show up in climate statistics. Climate is not uniform across locations, even as we group similar climates into different climate zones for easier understanding (National Geographic).

Climate Change

When we discuss climate change, a change in the 30-year climate average, it is by definition a slow change. We look at the last 30 years, and the 30 years before that, and we look at recent patterns to see what is statistically different. Changes in temperature above or below what that area has seen before, long term changes in precipitation patterns, these are some of the metrics we look at when identifying a changing climate. For example, if we look at changes to the global average temperature over the last 170 years, we can generate the figure below, showing a clear trend in warming across the planet.

This does not mean that each day will be warmer by the same amount versus historical averages, just that we expect temperatures on average to be warmer on a global level. Some areas will warm faster, some will warm slower, and the changes to each community will be unique (Climate Impact Lab)!

We can (and often do) look the other way too! By understanding our weather patterns and their causes, we can look at how changes within our atmosphere could ripple throughout different locations and weather phenomena. This isn’t a perfect method, because the atmosphere is impossible to fully understand, but this allows us to use our full range of understanding and data to give us the best understanding possible. It is in this way that we can develop projections of changes throughout the planet and atmosphere, which are as accurate as possible.

References

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