Weather and climate

There is often confusion between weather and climate. Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place over a short period of time, whereas climate refers to the weather pattern of a place over a long period, long enough to yield meaningful averages.^[1][2]

Meteorology studies weather, whileclimatology studies climate; both areatmospheric sciences.

Elements

There are several elements that make up the weather and climate of a place. The major of these elements are five: temperature,pressure, wind, humidity, and rain. Analysis of these elements can provide the basis for forecasting weather and defining its climate. These same elements make also the basis of climatology study, of course, within a longer time scale rather than it does in meteorology.

• Temperature is how hot or cold the atmosphere is, how many degrees it is above or below freezing. Temperature is a very important factor in determining the weather, because it influences or controls other elements of the weather, such as precipitation, humidity, clouds and atmospheric pressure.
• Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.
• Precipitation is the product of a rapid condensation process (if this process is slow, it only causes cloudy skies). It may include snow, hail, sleet, drizzle, fog, mist and rain.
• Atmospheric pressure (or air pressure) is the weight of air resting on the earth's surface. Pressure is shown on a weather map, often called a synoptic map, with lines called isobars.
• Wind is the movement of air masses, especially on the Earth's surface.