Climatology: An Atmospheric Science

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere over a brief period of time. Climate represents the composite of day-to-day weather over a longer period of time. Climate is the statistics of weather, usually over a 30-year interval. It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these variables in a given region. A region’s climate is generated by the climate system, which has five components: atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. The earth-ocean-atmosphere system may be divided into a number of zones with each traditionally studied by a separate scientific discipline. The atmosphere is the component of the system studied by climatologists and meteorologists. Climatology is the scientific study of climates, which is defined as the mean weather conditions over a period of time. A branch of study within atmospheric sciences, it also takes into account the variables and averages of short-term and long-term weather conditions. Climatology is different than meteorology and can be divided into different areas of study. Various approaches to this field can be taken, including paleoclimatology, which focuses on studying the climate over the course of the Earth’s existence by examining records of tree rings, rocks and sediment, and ice cores. Historical climatology focuses primarily on climate changes throughout history and the effects of the climate on people and events over time. Though both climatology and meteorology are areas of study that are considered branches of similar areas of study, climatology differs from meteorology because its focus is on averages of weather and climatic conditions over a long period of time. Meteorology focuses more on current weather conditions such as humidity, air pressure, and temperatures and forecasting the short-term weather conditions to come.