Climate vs. Weather What’s the difference?

Climate Vs. Weather Climate Long-term weather patterns of an area Current state of the troposphere Short term variations

Climatology The study of Earth’s climate and the factors that affect past, present, and future climatic changes

Normals Standard values for a location at a given time Average values over a long period of time

What Causes Different Climates? Topography Coastal regions and areas near water are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer Latitude

Arctic Circle Tropic of Cancer Equator Tropic of Capricorn Antarctic Circle 66.5° N 23.5° N 23.5° S 66.5° S 0°

Polar Temperate Tropics Tropics Temperate Polar

Climate Regions Tropics Lots of direct solar radiation; warmer; wetter Between Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer Temperate Between 23.5 and 66.5 North and South Mild temperatures that do not fluctuate Polar Cold temperatures, little precipitation

Koeppen Classification System Classified based on temp. + precipitation Tropical Dry Mild Continental Polar

Climate Change

Long-Term Climatic Change Climates change over extremely long periods of time Ice Ages – Periods of extensive glacial coverage Most recent ended 10,000 years ago Temps dropped 5°C

Short-Term Climatic Change Caused by regular variations in daylight, temp, and weather patterns Examples: Seasons El Nino (Warm ocean current)