According to (Gutro, 2005) “Weather is basically the way the atmosphere is behaving, mainly with respect to its effect upon life and human activities.” Climate is different from weather it consists of the short term changes in the atmosphere, while climate is the weather over a long period of time.
Weather is made up of sunshine, rain, cloud cover, winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flood, blizzards, ice storms, and thunderstorms, steady rains from a cold front, excessive heat, heat wave and more (Gutro, 2005). According to (editor, 2013) Weather differs from climate in that the latter includes the synthesis of weather conditions that have prevailed over a given area during a long time period-generally 30 years. Weather occurs in the troposphere, which is the lowest region of the atmosphere; the troposphere extends from the Earth’s surface to 6-8 km (4-5) at the poles and to about 17 km (11 miles) at the equator. Clouds and almost all precipitation develop in the troposphere. Conditions in the higher regions of the troposphere and above, such as the jet stream and upper-air waves, significantly affects sea-level atmospheric-pressure pattern-the so-called highs and lows- and thereby the weather condition at the terrestrial surface. Features such as mountains and large bodies of water also affect weather. It is also been identified that ocean-surface temperature anomalies are a potential cause of atmospheric temperature anomalies in successive seasons and at distant locations. An example of this weather-interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere is what scientists call the Nino/South Oscillation (ENSO). There is also evidence that ENSO is responsible not only for unusual weather events in the equation Pacific region,...
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...e Bahamas,
Although some islands were affected more than others depending on the path the hurricane took. See figure 10 below
Hurricane
Image from Department of Meteorology
References
editor, T. (2013, June 4). Weather. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/638309/weather
Encyclopedia, T. C. (2014). Weather Ballon. Retrieved from Infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/weather-balloon.html
Gutro, R. (2005, February 1). Features. Retrieved from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html
The Bahamian Climate. (2014). Retrieved from The Bahamas Meteorology Department: http://www.bahamasweather.org.bs/index.php
University, N. S. (2013, August 13). Instruments. Retrieved from Climate Education for K-12: https://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/edu/k12/.instruments
Mark Cane, scientist at Columbia University, discusses numerous places around the world that suffer famine and fires due to the effects of El Nino, even mentioning an occurrence here in the United States of an extreme snow storm caused by this event1. According to NOAA, El Nino occurs every 2-7 years and is detected by satellites, buoys, and sea level analysis . If scientists are aware of when El Nino is occurring then they are also aware of what changes in weather it is causing and can therefore connect these disasters to the event. It is
Climate and weather are similar, describing how the atmosphere behaves, the difference being the timescale (Conway, 2010). Weather is a short-term scale of temperature and precipitation, usually considering weeks or less (ibid). Climate, however, is a long term description of months or longer, describing different seasons and trends of temperature and precipitation. Climate of Vancouver is typically mild during the spring and summer and damp during the autumn and winter, and unlike other mountainous areas of British Columbia, it is not excessively cold or snowy (“Hello BC”, n.d.).
El Nino is both an atmospheric and oceanic phenomenon affecting weather patterns all around the world. It is complemented by La Nina in a cycle that occurs approximately every 4 years, varying as much as every two years to every six years (Wang 1999, 3331). La Nina has almost the opposite effect, however differs in its strength and duration randomly, as does El Nino (Fedorov 2000, 1998). The cycle is often paraphrased as ENSO, standing for El Nino-Southern Oscillation (Flugel 1997, 3230). It is called this because the El Nino phenomenon is especially strong in the Southern Hemisphere, and has greater effects in areas of the pacific near the equator. Although ENSO is prominent in certain areas, it alters weather patterns all around the world. The El Nino pattern can be quite random with and approximate range of 2 to 6 years per cycle, and is a loaded gun believed to be triggered by western winds (Fedorov 2000, 1997). Many scientists are now looking to the past for answers, so the El Nino cycle can be predicted for the years to come. New discoveries have recently been made on El Nino's history, and possible future.
The warming of the air brings with it a change in weather patterns across the globe. This change in weather patterns will include an increase in weather extremes such as, storms and drought. The type of extreme depends on a specific region with drought expected to increase in the dry tropics and with the frequency of tropical storms and rainfall expected to increase in the wet tropics.
The textbook definition of climate is the condition of the atmosphere in a specific region over many years. It has to do with long-term averages of temperature, winds, clouds, pressure, moisture, precipitation, etc. For example, South America has a very tropical climate while Minnesota has hot summers and cold winters experiencing the widest variety of weather.
Maria hit many islands in the Caribbean. Consequently, there was terrible flooding and winds reached a maximum speed of 155 mph. The rain and wind continued for thirty hours. Some parts of Puerto Rico received thirty inches of rain and the winds extended nearly seventy miles from the center of the hurricane. People who decided to stay before the hurricane hit were told to write their social security numbers on their body in case something were to happen and they
4) Oceanic circulation-Ocean currents have the potential to affect Earth’s climatic condition. This is because they have the capacity to carry a large amount of heat. Winds blowing over cooler currents become cold and the areas over which they blow have their temperature reduced. Similarly if winds blow over warmer currents, the wind picks up heat and areas over which the wind blows sees temperature increase. If winds blow over evaporating currents the pick up moisture and bring rain to the areas over which they blow.
In 2013, the world went through a huge unusual climate change. With for example, the typhoon
There are many causes and consequences of climate change discussed throughout this Encyclical. One of the most important would be the extreme weather. “In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determined cause
Climate change is a long-term change in regional or global climate patterns. From the mid twentieth century to now, there has mostly been a significant increase in average global temperatures. Climate change is a major issue in the world today, and a lot of people feel very differently about the cause of it. The common argument is whether climate change is a natural occurrence or if the recent increase in temperatures is because of humans. Climate change is a natural cycle in the Earth’s weather.
An El Nino happens in intervals of 3-7 years. The formation of this is related to the Pacific Southern Oscillation which is also the cycling of the Pacific Ocean circulation. The Pacific Southern Oscillation (the change of atmospheric pressures) happens when the easterly trade winds collapse, weaken, or even reverse. As this happens, the upwelling stops. The slight weakening of the winds cause a small change in sea surface temperatures, and the wind and pressure changes increase. The warm water of the western Pacific Ocean flow eastward and sea surface temperatures increase on the western coast of South America. When this occurs, the wet weather conditions (originally in the western Pacific) move east, and dry conditions (normally in the east) appear in the west.
Four NOMAD buoys across the North Atlantic registered a 13-degree drop in SST. And soon a series of extreme weather happened in front of my eyes: hurricanes, snow storms, and even cyclones that rapidly pulled cool air from the upper troposphere which made people freeze instantly. Those were the scenes I saw from The Day after Tomorrow, the film that inspired my curiosity in atmospheric sciences in my seventh grade. Although shocked by the catastrophe caused by global warming in the film, I couldn't help take an eager interest in how freshwater from melted polar ice caps brought a shift in the North Atlantic Current, and how the shifted current brought a change in the earth’s climate. Later, as I gathered more information about the climate, I became fascinated by the physical and dynamical mechanisms explaining atmospheric phenomenon. And after three years of undergraduate study of atmospheric sciences, beyond the starting point of fascination, I have taken concrete steps forward with my hard work, independence, and creativity.
Climate change is one of the most discussed topics of the twenty-first century. Although this subject is very often on the daily basis of lots of people, most of them do not know much about it. So let us define climate change. People think that climate change is the same thing as global warming. However, global warming only represents one aspect of climate that is temperature. Climate change is any significant change in temperature, precipitation, or a wind pattern that occur over several decades or longer.
Climate change is evidenced through shifts in the weather patterns such as winds, humidity and temperatures over certain durations. Natural climate changes occur less frequently and they are triggered by factors related to geographical aspects as well as solar radiation. The earth’s movement on the orbit triggers changes in climate, causing some areas to have higher temperatures than usual, while others are significantly cold depending on the position of the earth on the orbit. The heat from the sun causes changes in the stratospheric ozone and it increases the amount of greenhouse gases. Heat from the oceanic crust also contributes to warming as a result of episodic hydrothermal venting (Liao & Sandeberg, 2012).
Climate change is caused due to the release of few carbon compounds into the atmosphere, which drastically brought the weather changes all over the world. Climate change is not confined to a single region. It has become an important issue all over the world for the past few years.