Fundamentals of fact-checking climate disinformation 2/5
Basic Terminology Related to Climate Change
Weather refers to the atmospheric conditions at a specific time and location, encompassing elements like temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric pressure.
Climate refers to the typical weather conditions of a region, reflecting how it acts over various timescales, including seasons and extended durations. To understand a region’s climate, one examines its weather tendencies, tracked over at least 30 years. While weather can shift within a few hours, climate evolves over much longer periods, ranging from centuries to millennia.
Climate change signifies alterations in the typical weather patterns of a specific area. This might involve variations in the annual rainfall levels or shifts in the normal temperatures for a particular month or season. Furthermore, climate change encompasses broader transformations in the Earth’s overall climate, including changes in the planet’s average temperature or modifications in the usual distribution of rain and snowfall across the globe.
For more information attend the module Understanding Climate Change.