What is the difference between climate and weather?

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Multiple Choice

What is the difference between climate and weather?

The main idea is the difference in time scale and scope. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific place and time—things like temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and cloud cover that can change from hour to hour or day to day. Climate, on the other hand, describes the typical patterns of those conditions over a long period and across a region, including how much they vary and what extremes are common. In meteorology, climate normals are usually 30-year averages used to define what’s typical. So weather tells you what’s happening now or in the near future, while climate tells you what’s typical over decades and how much variation there is around those norms. The stated idea is that weather describes current conditions and climate is the long-term average and variability, which is the correct distinction. The other options mix up time scales or limit what weather or climate describe (e.g., current conditions vs. long-term averages, or temperatures only).

The main idea is the difference in time scale and scope. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific place and time—things like temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and cloud cover that can change from hour to hour or day to day. Climate, on the other hand, describes the typical patterns of those conditions over a long period and across a region, including how much they vary and what extremes are common. In meteorology, climate normals are usually 30-year averages used to define what’s typical. So weather tells you what’s happening now or in the near future, while climate tells you what’s typical over decades and how much variation there is around those norms. The stated idea is that weather describes current conditions and climate is the long-term average and variability, which is the correct distinction. The other options mix up time scales or limit what weather or climate describe (e.g., current conditions vs. long-term averages, or temperatures only).

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