How to Distinguish Between Weather & Climate
- 1). Determine if the weather you're experiencing is usual for the area. If it's usual, you may be experiencing the normal climate. If it's an anomaly, you're simply experiencing weather.
- 2). Ask whether the data you're looking at is for a single day or for a long period of time. A news report may mention the weather over the course of a week or a month, but climate takes into account years of data.
- 3). Take note of the term interannual variability. It is used to describe climate changes between years and denotes a discussion of climate rather than weather.
- 4). Pay close attention to the terms describing the event you're studying. Rainy, sunny, hot and cold are terms that apply to climate and weather, but are commonly found in weather reports. Terms like continental or marine, on the other hand, describe a climate with regards to its position relative to the ocean.