What is the difference between weather and climate?

What is the difference between weather and climate?

• A. Weather describes the long-term average of conditions in a region.
• B. Weather describes conditions in a short period; climate is a long-term average.
• C. Weather describes the average of all climates.
• D. Climate is the same as weather.

Answer: (B)

Weather is what the sky is doing right now or over the next few hours—things like temperature, precipitation, wind, and humidity. It can change from hour to hour and day to day. Climate, on the other hand, is the typical pattern of those conditions over a long period in a region, usually averaged over many years (about 30 or more). So a place’s climate might be described as warm summers and cool, wet winters, while the weather today could be sunny and warm. The idea that weather is the long-term average doesn’t fit because weather is the short-term state, not the long-run pattern, and climate is not the same as weather.

Weather is what the sky is doing right now or over the next few hours—things like temperature, precipitation, wind, and humidity. It can change from hour to hour and day to day. Climate, on the other hand, is the typical pattern of those conditions over a long period in a region, usually averaged over many years (about 30 or more). So a place’s climate might be described as warm summers and cool, wet winters, while the weather today could be sunny and warm. The idea that weather is the long-term average doesn’t fit because weather is the short-term state, not the long-run pattern, and climate is not the same as weather.