Climate
Topic: Atmosphere: Composition, Structure and Elements of Weather · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Climates of India"; Class 9, Ch 3 "Atmosphere and Climate"
Meaning
Climate is the average weather of a large area over a long period, usually 30 years or more. It covers temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity and pressure. The current World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard period for these averages, called a "normal", is 1991–2020. Weather changes from hour to hour, but climate changes very slowly. Today, human activity such as burning fossil fuels is changing it.
Example
"It is raining in Delhi today" describes weather. "Delhi has a hot semi-arid to humid subtropical climate" describes climate. This statement rests on decades of records showing hot summers, cool winters and most rain in the monsoon months.
Don't confuse with
- Weather: weather is the state of the air at one place and time, over hours or days. One cold winter is weather. It does not disprove global warming, which is a change in climate.