Weather: The Basics
It is important to know the difference between the terms weather and climate. Learn these definitions!
Weather - The state of the atmosphere over short periods of time (hours and days). This includes conditions such as precipitation, hours of sunshine, cloud cover, direction and strength of wind, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.
Climate - The average weather conditions and patterns of a place over a long period of time, usually 30 years or more. This also includes conditions such as precipitation, hours of sunshine, cloud cover, direction and strength of wind, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. This provides a general picture and the conditions actually experienced can be vastly different from the long term averages.
Climate refers to what is expected to happen in the atmosphere rather than the actual conditions.
Climatic conditions within a particular place can vary, e.g. from the top of a hill or mountain, the sunny/shaded side. These areas with small variations are called microclimates.
Biomes
Climates are influenced by many factors, such as location according to the Poles or Equator, proximity to the sea, ocean currents, atmospheric pressure belts and prevailing winds. The climate of a particular place affects its vegetation and influences the type of animals that live there.
It is possible to divide the globe into similar climate zones. These 10 major ecosystems have similar flora (plants), fauna (animals) and climate. They are called biomes, and each have their own characteristics.
As the map on the right shows, the ten are:
- rainforest
- deciduous forest
- coniferous forest
- desert
- desert scrub
- grassland
- savannah
- tundra
- mountains
- mediterranean
Weather - The state of the atmosphere over short periods of time (hours and days). This includes conditions such as precipitation, hours of sunshine, cloud cover, direction and strength of wind, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.
Climate - The average weather conditions and patterns of a place over a long period of time, usually 30 years or more. This also includes conditions such as precipitation, hours of sunshine, cloud cover, direction and strength of wind, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. This provides a general picture and the conditions actually experienced can be vastly different from the long term averages.
Climate refers to what is expected to happen in the atmosphere rather than the actual conditions.
Climatic conditions within a particular place can vary, e.g. from the top of a hill or mountain, the sunny/shaded side. These areas with small variations are called microclimates.
Biomes
Climates are influenced by many factors, such as location according to the Poles or Equator, proximity to the sea, ocean currents, atmospheric pressure belts and prevailing winds. The climate of a particular place affects its vegetation and influences the type of animals that live there.
It is possible to divide the globe into similar climate zones. These 10 major ecosystems have similar flora (plants), fauna (animals) and climate. They are called biomes, and each have their own characteristics.
As the map on the right shows, the ten are:
- rainforest
- deciduous forest
- coniferous forest
- desert
- desert scrub
- grassland
- savannah
- tundra
- mountains
- mediterranean