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What is Climate Change?
Weather
- the state or condition of the atmosphere at a given time and place
measured in terms of temperature, humidity, air pressure, moisture, wind,
cloudiness, precipitation (rainfall and snow) and sunshine (atmospheric
variables). Weather changes from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and
season-to-season. The changes occur with the movement of air over the
Earth surface and the resultant redistribution of heat and moisture.
Climate
- the average of weather over time and space
for a location. Climate can be measured quantitatively by calculating
the long term averages of different atmospheric variables (or climate
elements) such as temperature, precipitation (rainfall & snow). Climates can also
expressed in terms of
extremes in the weather conditions of a place.
Climate is the expected, while weather is
what you get. Weather changes rapidly, however, past data sets could be
used to estimate the expected climate of a particular location. For a City
B located at a given point on the face of the Earth, there is an expected
climate (defined by the means and extremes of atmospheric variables or
climate elements) for the month of January of every year.
Climate Change
describes changes in the expected climate as a result of changes in the
expected patterns of weather at a location. Climate change represents a
shift (upwards or downwards) in the magnitude of the atmospheric variables
(temperature, precipitation etc) from the long established pattern for a
given location and a given period of the year.
Climate change can result from various
causes, a lot of times natural causes. However, there are human activities
that could lead to climate change or enhance the impacts of the natural
climate change causes. In recent times, there seems to be increasing
evidences that the global climate is warming up (global warming). There
are increasing suspicions as well, that mankind's industrial activities
contribute in no small measure to the global warming.
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