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Climate is generally defined as an average (of the maximums and minimums) over a 30 year period. So they're right in saying that this heatwave is weather, not c
by fooblitzky 7y ago
Climate is generally defined as an average (of the maximums and minimums) over a 30 year period. So they're right in saying that this heatwave is weather, not climate. This summer will affect the calculated climate, sure, but it could be canceled out by an equally cold summer next year (unlikely, because the Earth is warming).
- jacquesm 7y ago"The general or average weather conditions of a certain region, including temperature, rainfall, and wind. On Earth, climate is most affected by latitude, the tilt of the Earth's axis, the movements of the Earth's wind belts, the difference in temperatures of land and sea, and topography." Extremes that shift are worrisome, outliers are not. So if the range of observed temperatures for a region is -25 to 39 and you get a year where it is 45 then that's a very worrisome development because it indicates the climate range has expanded. This as opposed a year with 38 which would still be an outlier but not a shift in range.
- johnchristopher 7y ago> This summer will affect the calculated climate, sure, but it could be canceled out by an equally cold summer next year (unlikely, because the Earth is warming). Why would a cold summer next year cancel out a hot summer ? If extremes swing so much it doesn't matter that the average stays the same.