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What is the difference between weather and climate?

🔬 Science · updated 4 weeks ago · 3 min read
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Short answerWeather is what happens today or this week; climate is the long-term average pattern of weather in a place.

Weather is the short-term state of the atmosphere. It is the rain, heat, wind, or snow you get today, this week, or even this hour. Climate is the bigger pattern: the average weather a place expects over a long period of time.

That is why a cold day in Chicago does not disprove climate change, and a hot day does not prove it. A single day is weather. A trend over decades is climate.

If weather is the outfit you wear today, climate is the kind of closet your city usually needs. The distinction is mostly about time scale.

Sources

NOAA National Weather Service - Weather vs. Climate
NOAA Ocean Service - What is the difference between weather and climate?
NOAA NESDIS - What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?

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