Climate

The accumulation of daily and seasonal weather events over a long period of time. It is a description of aggregate weather conditions; the sum of all statistical weather information that helps describe a place or region.

Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the "average weather," or more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands of years. The classical period is 3 decades, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system. See weather.

The average weather, usually taken over a 30 year time period, for a particular region and time period. Climate is not the same as weather, but rather, it is the average pattern of weather for a particular region. Weather describes the short-term state of the atmosphere. Climatic elements include precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail-storms, and other measures of the weather. See weather.

the "average weather" (or, more specifically, the mean and variability of variables such as temperature, precipitation and winds) over a time period ranging from months to thousands of years to millions of years.

Climate Synthesis of weather conditions in a given area, characterized by long-term statistics (mean values, variances, probabilities of extreme values, etc.) of the meteorological elements in that area. Polar climate (arctic climate) is generally the climate of a geographical polar region, most commonly taken to be a climate which is too cold to support the growth of trees.

The prevailing or average weather conditions of a geographic region.

The composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.

Average conditions of the weather over a number of years. See macroclimate and microclimate.

The composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.