Climate — Science definition

Defined in 3 courses:

Where it is taught

In use

Climate is the statistical description of weather at a place over a long period, conventionally thirty years.

Weather & Climate: Time Scales and Comparisons

There's an old line that nails the difference: **climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.

Climate & the Greenhouse Effect

A biome is a large region unified by its climate and by the community of life adapted to that climate.

Biomes & Aquatic Systems

Questions using climate

Problem 1

Does a week’s record establish a region’s long-term climate?
Answer and explanation

No. It samples short-term conditions; a long-term pattern needs a suitable much longer record.

Compare the scientific meaning and reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; human review is required.

Problem 2

Which statement correctly uses climate in Weather & Climate: Time Scales and Comparisons?
  1. climate: Long-term patterns and distributions of atmospheric conditions in a region.
  2. A single weather event proves or disproves a whole long-term climate trend.
  3. Equal average temperatures mean identical daily conditions.
  4. One illustrative result establishes every real condition and needs no further evidence.
Answer and explanation

climate: Long-term patterns and distributions of atmospheric conditions in a region.

Long-term patterns and distributions of atmospheric conditions in a region. The supplied summaries rise by 0.8 °C from first to last. They describe a regional seasonal pattern across the stated periods, not tomorrow’s temperature. The numbers alone do not identify the cause or describe every location, and daily variation remains within each period.

Problem 3

Which statement correctly uses variation in Weather & Climate: Time Scales and Comparisons?
  1. A single weather event proves or disproves a whole long-term climate trend.
  2. variation: Differences among observations that a single average may not describe.
  3. Equal average temperatures mean identical daily conditions.
  4. One illustrative result establishes every real condition and needs no further evidence.
Answer and explanation

variation: Differences among observations that a single average may not describe.

Differences among observations that a single average may not describe. The supplied summaries rise by 0.8 °C from first to last. They describe a regional seasonal pattern across the stated periods, not tomorrow’s temperature. The numbers alone do not identify the cause or describe every location, and daily variation remains within each period.

Problem 4

Which statement is scientifically accurate for Weather & Climate: Time Scales and Comparisons?
  1. Equal average temperatures mean identical daily conditions.
  2. A single weather event proves or disproves a whole long-term climate trend.
  3. climate: Long-term patterns and distributions of atmospheric conditions in a region.
  4. Every classroom model reproduces reality exactly.
Answer and explanation

climate: Long-term patterns and distributions of atmospheric conditions in a region.

Long-term patterns and distributions of atmospheric conditions in a region. The supplied summaries rise by 0.8 °C from first to last. They describe a regional seasonal pattern across the stated periods, not tomorrow’s temperature. The numbers alone do not identify the cause or describe every location, and daily variation remains within each period.

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