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What is climate?
Climate is not the same as
weather. What is the difference?
Weather is the state of the
atmosphere at a given time and
place. It is measured in terms of
factors such as temperature,
rainfall, humidity and cloudiness.
Climate is the average weather for a region over a long
period of time, usually 30 years.
One way to remember the difference is that climate
is what you expect, weather is what you get.
Weather can change several times a day; the climate
normally takes a long time to change. What would happen
if the climate changed quickly?
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Greenhouse gases
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water
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400
300
200
100
300
According to records,
this is about 27% more
than at any time in the
last 400,000 years.
200
100
0
1960
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1980
year
2000
Temperature change
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difference from
average temp. (C)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
1861
1941
year
2001
400
300
200
100
0
1960
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1980
year
2000
However, it is not
correct to say that
carbon dioxide levels
have caused this
temperature change,
because there are
other factors involved.
How should the data
be discussed?
Boardworks Ltd 2006
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radiation
from the
Sun
volcanoes
atmosphere
precipitation
ice on
land
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evaporation
transpiration
ice in the sea
seas and
oceans
land
rivers and
lakes
Boardworks Ltd 2006
What is a supercomputer?
Computers were developed in the 1960s and have been
getting more and more powerful ever since.
The Earth Simulator
centre in Japan has one
of the largest computers
used for climate modelling.
It can work at a speed of
35,000,000,000
calculations per second!
Powerful computers like
this make it possible to
model the complexity of
the climate system.
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Glossary
carbon cycle The movement of carbon and carbon
compounds through the atmosphere and ecosystem.
climate The average weather pattern for a region over
a long period of time, usually 30 years.
climate change A significant variation in the long-term
weather patterns for a region.
global warming An increase in the average temperature
of Earth.
greenhouse effect The trapping of infrared radiation
by the Earths atmosphere, which makes the temperature
warmer than it would be otherwise.
greenhouse gas An atmospheric gas that can trap
infrared radiation.
proxy record A natural or indirect record of climate.
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Anagrams
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Multiple-choice quiz
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