Climate and weather

CLIMATE and WEATHER

What is Weather?

The state of the atmosphere at any particular place or time. Described using such elements or variables as:

1. temperature

2. precipitation (type)

3. humidity

4. cloudiness

5. air pressure

6. wind speed and direction

Elements of Weather

• Wind
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Humidity
• Clouds
• Precipitation

WEATHER

• Always changing, exhibiting large fluctuations in the atmosphere from hour-to-hour or day-to-day

What is CLIMATE?

• climate is defined as an area's long-term weather patterns. The simplest way to describe climate is to look at average temperature and precipitation over time. Other useful elements for describing climate include the type and the timing of precipitation, amount of sunshine, average wind speeds and directions, number of days above freezing, weather extremes, and local geography

.

What is CLIMATE?

• Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change.

Weather vs Climate

Climate Weather
Forecast: By aggregates of Collecting
weather statistics statistical data
over periods of
30 years
Study Climatology Meteorology
Components precipitation, temp. Sunshine, rain
humidity, sunshine, cloud cover,
wind velocity winds, hail,
fog, frost, hail storms snow, sleet,
over a period of time freezing rain
flooding, blizzards
ice storms, heat
waves

Effects on Climate

Canada’s climate has so much variety because:

• It extends from a great distance from north to south
• Different elevations
• Coastal and inland regions produce different climate
• Wind and pressure systems move weather conditions from one part of the country to another
• Some very large lakes, such as the Great Lakes, also have an effect