“Climate means the usual condition of the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, and other meteorological elements in an area of the Earth's surface for a long time. In simple terms climate is the average condition for about thirty years.” (Google easy definition)
I have chosen climate for the theme of the year because I want to learn more about it and because I think it is time to begin a thorough discussion about the many types of climate that determine our actions.
We are affected by what is going on around us from the time we are born. Since I am a baby-boomer, that is the demographic I identify with the most, but feel free to comment about the climate that has affected you. There are basically two different meanings that refer to climate, the one listed above and also the cultural climate. I’m going to start learning about the first definition and see if I get to the second kind.
Several years ago I took a class online about climate which was handled by a Canadian university. As with many things, I have no idea where that is (on the Web). It was fascinating and went into global climate patterns. I learned that a certain portion of the polar ice caps melts every year, adding fresh water to our oceans. This water circulates around the planet, warming some parts of our land and cooling others. I had never thought about the fact that ice is fresh water and the oceans are salty. I certainly learned other ideas but that one effect on our climate has stayed with me. What happens when too much fresh water enters our oceans? What happens if the oceans warm and create more precipitation? I would love to take another class because I seem to need deadlines to accomplish learning that takes effort.
Another word that is often used in conjunction with climate is sustainability. Once again, Google says: the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level, also, avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. In Europe, several years ago, everyone was going into the field. They will be light years ahead of other countries who have not yet realized there are real opportunities in the field.
Wikipedia says climate is affected by “temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, and precipitation. In a broader sense, climate is the state of the components of the climate system, which includes the ocean and ice on Earth.[1]"
Latitude, terrain and altitude also play large roles, as do bodies of water. Although New York City and Chicago are on similar latitudes, the ocean gives New York milder winters, a fact I learned in person when my daughter moved there.
There are systems of classification of climate, fields of study, such as paleoclimatology, and climate models to simulate what is happening globally. There is a scary chart on the Wikipedia page that shows a steady rise in world temperature over 140 years. Finally, there is a list of 15 related topics and 57 footnotes if you want more information. I will be spending time on the wiki page for the next few weeks. If you are interesting in learning more about the climates all over the world, please follow along this year.
1) Google, https://www.google.com/, accessed 1/9/20
2) Planton, Serge (France; editor) (2013). "Annex III. Glossary: IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" (PDF). IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. p. 1450. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-24. Retrieved 25 July 2016. This is a direct copy of the Wikipedia footnote. I hope it’s not plagiarism to use it.
