How do weather and climate differ?

• A. Weather reflects long-term averages.
• B. Weather and climate are the same.
• C. Climate is a measure of day-to-day weather.
• D. Weather is the day-to-day conditions; climate is the long-term average.

Answer: (D)

Weather is the day-to-day conditions you experience outside—temperature, rain, wind, humidity—what it’s like today or this week. Climate, on the other hand, is the long-term pattern of those conditions for a region, described by averages and typical ranges calculated over many years (usually about 30 years). So a sunny day might be weather, while the general hot-or-cold patterns you expect over many years for a place describe its climate. The idea is that weather can change from day to day, but climate shows the normal patterns you’re likely to see over a long period.