What is Climate?
When we talk about weather, we speak about the conditions of the atmosphere at any particular time and place. Weather - which is always changing - is comprised of the elements of:
- Air temperature
- Air pressure
- Humidity
- Clouds
- Precipitation
- Visibility
- Wind
The measurement and observation of these weather elements, however, specified over a large interval of time, say, for many years would yield "average weather" or the climate of a particular region.
Climate therefore represents the accumulation of daily and seasonal weather events over a long period.
The concept of climate is something which goes further though, for it also includes the extremes of weather - the heat waves of summer or the cold spells of winter - that occur in a particular region. The frequency of these extremes is what helps distinguish among climates which bear similar averages.
What is the importance of climate?
For instance, chemical reactions proceed at a faster rate in warm, humid connditions, so chemical weathering of rocks dominates soil formation proceses in warm climates.
Among crops, wheat tolerates cooler weather than would rice, while most rice varieties need very humid and rainy conditions that would be devastating to wheat.
In the case of animals, the responses of vertebrate animals (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) to climate and/or climate change can be multidimensional, because their geographic distributions depend on diverse variables with the complex interrelationships.
Climate parameters themselves can contribute to these complexities: some species may be limited by temperature, while others are more sensitive to precipitation. Effective moisture, which is determined by both temperature and precipitation, may restrict other species. Snow cover, storm frequencies, and cloud cover are a few other variables that also influence geographic ranges.
The relationship between human life and climate on the other hand is a two-way interaction in which humans adapt to climate and utilise climate hazards to modify the climate environment. Analysis of these interactions must include consideration of physiological adoption, behavioural and technological innovation, the impacts of extreme climate events on society, and the growing influence of human activity on
climate.