Download Climate or Weather?

Climate System and Weather
Climatology Lesson 1
Weather
Weather refers to:
The state of the
atmosphere in a particular
place and time.
Weather occurs over short
time periods. The weather
predictions usually cover
days or weeks.
Types of Weather
• What terms do you associate with weather?
What Causes Weather?
• Weather is an expression of the climate system.
• The climate system is the interaction of the
atmosphere, biosphere, and other parts of the
Earth that determine weather at a time or place
The Biosphere
The Atmosphere
The Oceans
Temperature Difference From Normal (°C)
Studying Climate Involves Long-term Trends
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/
Relating Climate and Weather
-What do the thick red and thick blue lines represent?
-What do the fluctuating red and blue lines represent?
Why is the Climate System Important?
• The climate system determines the weather.
The weather affects many of our daily
decisions.
• Climate affects long-term decisions by
humans.
• Climate affects long-term trends in plants and
animals.
What do you think?
• The following video talks about weather,
climate, and climate change.
• While watching the video, think about
whether the terms weather and climate are
used appropriately given the definitions.
Click Here for Video Link
Video Discussion
• What was the viewpoint of Stephen Colbert in
this video clip?
• In what ways were the terms weather, climate
and climate system referred to improperly?
• Discuss the main evidence for support of
climate change in spite of heavy snowfall.
Weather or Climate?
• With your group, watch each of the following
video clips and decide if they are examples of
weather, climate or could they be both? Be
prepared to defend your group’s response.
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Tornado: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJlfAGC8G8w&feature=relmfu
Drought: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9s_A0G7oUU&feature=related
Rainstorm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugK4AsMEVsg
Blizzard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqi0K1CaWXI&feature=related
Wildfire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujOhGio_BE