How are weather and climate different

Weather and climate are two concepts that are often confused. The two refer to local conditions of temperature, precipitation among others, but the main difference is the time scale. The weather refers to the present moment while the climate to a period of many years.

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. It is given by a combination of elements of the climate such as pressure, temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind and cloudiness and can vary in days, hours or minutes. Meteorologists predict the weather in the next few days, examples of which are the weather forecasts that we see on television, on the Internet or hear on the radio are about the weather, not the climate.

Climate is the average of the daily values ??collected for temperature, precipitation, among others, in a given place over a long period of time, usually 30 years. It is therefore the average of the time you have spent in that place during that period. Providing information about the typical seasonal variations of that place. From the study of these variations, the different types of climates are obtained: equatorial, tropical, desert, steppe, subtropical, Mediterranean, maritime, continental and polar.

In other words, its main difference is stability, since the weather is not stable and can vary from one moment to another during a day, weeks and months and this is due to the influence of several factors, however, the climate is On the contrary, it is stable, it is a condition that does not vary so easily, for example, if in a desert climate zone there are sudden precipitations, this does not mean that its climate changed, but that the atmospheric conditions did, but even so the Climate characteristics of the place are preserved, and to determine that a climate has changed requires the study of said climate for a time greater than 15 years.

This difference can also be explained when in a place with a Mediterranean climate in summer sun and heat are expected, that is weather, while on a specific day in July in that same place there are rain and cool, that is the weather. In short, the current moment is the Weather with its characteristics, while the climate refers to a period that can last many days, months and even years.

In this sense, it can be concluded that the meteorological weather is related to the atmospheric changes that occur in a given short-term Weather in a place, and this in turn can change from one moment to another due to temperature and other elements, in addition they tend to change quickly. Reasons why temperature changes are different depending on the day, whether in the morning, in the afternoon or at night. And the climate is the set of atmospheric conditions that characterize a region.

Other differences between climate and weather are:

• Weather provides information on changes in atmospheric conditions in any area at any given time, while climate is the result of meteorological and statistical information for a particular place over a prolonged period of more than 20 years.

• The weather can change constantly and the climate has greater stability.

• The weather can compromise the daily occupations of people or a specific event, and even prevent services such as transport, agriculture, games, festivities among others and the climate if it can significantly affect agriculture, industries, and everything type of economic activities.

• The study of the weather is carried out by the science of meteorology, in charge of forecasting the weather and its behaviors, while the climate is studied by the climatology.

• The effects of Weather can last a short time, be they minutes or hours, as opposed to the effects of weather that are long-lasting, such as El Niño events, which take place over several years, resulting in large-scale consequences.

Step-by-step explanation

It is common for people to confuse the terms climate and weather when they want to talk about the weather conditions in a specific place and time. Although the two are related, these two words have very different meanings. Climate refers to the atmospheric conditions of a place or region, however, the word climate is erroneously used as a synonym for Weather. Climate is focused on a period of at least three decades. Climate refers to the periodic succession of different types of weather that are characteristically repeated in a region over a period of 30 years or more.

For its part, Weather refers to the condition of the atmosphere at a given time and place. The weather can vary anywhere in a city and at any time

This means that when referring to the condition of a particular moment of the day it is the weather, but not the time, since the weather does not changes and is stable.