The Difference Between Weather And Climate Simplified For Kids

Weather and Earth's climate are two different terms, and this needs to be understood before getting into the difference.

Climate is all about average weather conditions. Weather and climate do have some similarities, and they can change quickly.

Climate and weather are all due to humidity, wind, precipitation, temperature, pressure, and so on. Hence, this is a similarity between the weather and climate. The weather and climate highly depend on atmospheric characteristics. The weather and climate do not occur in the same pattern everywhere.

There are various differences between the weather and climate. Climate can be influenced by sunshine and wind, but the weather itself represents sunshine and air. Sandstorms can be categorized as the weather, but a desert area is known to be a climate region. Wind speed is also a determinant at a certain time.

What does weather mean?

Before exploring the difference between weather and climate for kids, you need to know the meaning.

The condition of the atmosphere in an area is called weather, and this weather happens at a particular period of time and in a particular place. For example, cloudy weather, sunshine, wind, rainfall, and so on are a few examples of weather.

Weather lasts for a short time. Cloud cover for a period of time in a specific place is a common example of weather that most people witness. High air pressure brings stable weather.

Lower air pressure causes dark clouds, rainfall, and storms. A barometer is used to determine weather conditions.

What does climate mean?

Climate refers to weather that prevails over a larger area and for a longer period of time.

The climate is also considered to be the average mean value of weather, for example, winters in December, summers in May, and so on. You may have seen how extreme weather is impacting our climates. For example, climate change is making drought more frequent, severe, and pervasive.

Weather Types

There are different types of weather. The five main types of weather patterns or weather conditions that can be easily witnessed in any part of the planet are sunny, cloudy, stormy, rainy, and windy. These different types of weather are based upon various factors like humidity, atmospheric pressure, temperature, precipitation, and so on.

Weather changes from day to day and can vary greatly. Weather changes can be caused due to various processes like the water cycle and other human activities. Also, the rotation of the Earth plays a vital role in determining the weather.

Speaking of weather patterns and climate, it is evident that temperature contributes to the type of weather patterns or climate. The temperature of a climate is known to be the severity of coldness or hotness that is measured.

The pace of atoms and substances is also measured. Temperature is known to have different scales, for example, the Celsius scale, Fahrenheit scale, Kelvin scale, and so on.

Speaking of a cold climate and severe weather, the South Pole in Antarctica takes the prize as the coldest place on Earth. Here, temperatures are as cool as -38 F (-38.9 C)! Cold winters for long periods are common there.

Climate Types

Just like different types of weather conditions that people experience, different climates and conditions are also common. Since the climate prevails over a large area, which usually can differ from country to country, many people may or may not experience certain climate conditions unless and until a person moves out of the place.

There are five main climate types that are evident on the entire Earth. These include tropical, dry, temperate, polar, and continental.

These are no longer stable since the changes have been drastic in recent times. These are highlands, arid, Mediterranean, subtropical, tropical rainy, temperate marine, tropical wet, tropical wet-dry, and so on.

Since there have been variations in climate types, and as it was earlier mentioned that climate does prevail over a larger area, scientists have categorized the Earth into several different regions, which are called the climatic zones. There are a total of seven climatic zones known today.

These are tropical rainforests, dry grasslands, tropical grassland areas, deserts, Mediterranean areas, temperate forests, mountains, boreal forests, polar and tundra, and so on.

The Koppen system has identified six major climatic regions around the world. These six major climatic regions have different sub-classifications, and that count goes up to 24. The climatic zones are derived on the basis of the average temperature and precipitation values in a particular region in a month.

The Difference Between Climate And Weather

The major difference between climate and weather is the duration of both. The weather is known to last for a shorter duration, which can go from a few days to a week, whereas the climate can stay for a longer period of time.

However, weather can change too frequently, and that can be minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, or even season to season. The climate is stable as it is calculated as an average of the weather over a particular region.

The temperatures in the different regions of the Earth differ due to the position of Earth with respect to the Sun. Hence, as long as a region receives more radiation from the Sun, it can be considered sunny.

Human activities have led to an increase in global warming over the years. This has made the weather and climate change too frequent. Since it is for a long period of time that the damage is being done, it is high time that humans understand the importance of nature and lower the activities affecting the natural processes.

Did you know...

Due to climate change, the atmosphere is becoming warmer, leading to global warming. People who study climate and the Earth's surface understand how the atmosphere is changing and how global warming impacts the world.

It is no longer just a hot day, and it sometimes feels like the Atacama desert with varying wind conditions. Global warming on the Earth's surface has gotten so bad that the oceans absorb the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions leading to rising sea levels.

Likewise, the changes in climates are also making the air less healthy to breathe, making air pollution a cause for concern. It has also been affecting the polar climates for a long period.

The snow is melting due to the increasing heat in the atmosphere. Snow cover over land in the Arctic has decreased, causing it to become even hotter.