Climate is the average weather pattern of a region over a long period, typically 30 years or more. It encompasses factors like temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind patterns. Earth's climate is the average of all the world's regional climates.
Climate change, on the other hand, refers to a significant and lasting alteration in these average weather patterns. This could manifest as a change in a region's average annual rainfall, increased frequency of extreme weather events (like heatwaves or droughts), or a shift in seasonal patterns. It's important to note that global warming, the long-term increase in Earth's average temperature, is just one aspect of climate change. Climate change includes warming and the resulting "side effects" on other aspects of the climate system.
In short: Climate is the long-term average weather; climate change is a significant and sustained shift in that average.
- Example: A region's climate might historically have an average annual temperature of 20°C and 1000mm of rainfall. Climate change could alter this to 22°C and 800mm of rainfall, or increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like storms and floods.
References:
- NASA emphasizes the distinction between climate and climate change, defining climate as the average weather over a long period. They also clarify that global warming is only one aspect of the broader issue of climate change. https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-are-climate-and-climate-change-grades-5-8/
- The USGS similarly highlights that global warming is a component of climate change, not the entirety of it. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-difference-between-global-warming-and-climate-change
- NOAA clarifies that weather is short-term while climate is long-term average weather, further underscoring the difference between climate and the changes within it (climate change). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/weather-vs-climate
- A source states that Earth's climate is the average of all the world's regional climates, and therefore climate change is a change in the typical or average weather of a region or city.
