Editing Climate (section)

{{Short description|Long-term weather pattern of a region}}
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'''Climate''' is the long-term [[weather]] pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years.<ref name="IPCC-2021">{{cite web |last1=Matthews |first1=J.B. Robin |last2=Möller |first2=Vincent |last3=van Diemen |first3=Renée |last4=Fuglestvedt |first4=Jan S. |last5=Masson-Delmotte |first5=Valérie |last6=Méndez |first6=Carlos |last7=Semenov |first7=Sergey |last8=Reisinger |first8=Andy |title=Annex VII. Glossary: IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_AnnexVII.pdf |date=2021 |work=[[IPCC Sixth Assessment Report]] |page=2222 |access-date=2022-05-18 |archive-date=2022-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605175306/https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_AnnexVII.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NASA-20050201">{{cite web |last1=Shepherd |first1=J. Marshall |last2=Shindell |first2=Drew |last3=O'Carroll |first3=Cynthia M. |title=What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate? |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html |date=1 February 2005 |work=[[NASA]] |access-date=13 November 2015 |archive-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922095736/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html/ |url-status=live }}</ref> More rigorously, it is the mean and [[Statistical dispersion|variability]] of [[Meteorology|meteorological]] variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the [[Meteorology|meteorological]] variables that are commonly measured are [[temperature]], [[humidity]], [[atmospheric pressure]], [[wind]], and [[precipitation]]. In a broader sense, climate is the state of the components of the [[climate system]], including the [[atmosphere]], [[hydrosphere]], [[cryosphere]], [[lithosphere]] and [[biosphere]] and the interactions between them.<ref name="IPCC-2021" /> The climate of a location is affected by its [[latitude]], [[longitude]], [[terrain]], [[altitude]], [[land use]] and nearby [[body of water|water bodies]] and their currents.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gough |first1=William A. |last2=Leung |first2=Andrew C. W. |date=2022 |title=Do Airports Have Their Own Climate? |journal=Meteorology |language=en |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=171–182 |doi=10.3390/meteorology1020012 |issn=2674-0494|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Climates can be [[Climate classification|classified]] according to the average and typical variables, most commonly [[temperature]] and [[precipitation]]. The most widely used classification scheme is the [[Köppen climate classification]]. The [[Thornthwaite climate classification|Thornthwaite system]],<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/210739|url=http://www.unc.edu/courses/2007fall/geog/801/001/www/ET/Thornthwaite48-GeogrRev.pdf|first=C. W. |last=Thornthwaite|title=An Approach Toward a Rational Classification of Climate|journal=Geographical Review|volume=38|issue=1|pages=55–94|year=1948|jstor=210739|bibcode=1948GeoRv..38...55T |access-date=2010-12-13|archive-date=Jan 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124194531/http://www.unc.edu/courses/2007fall/geog/801/001/www/ET/Thornthwaite48-GeogrRev.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> in use since 1948, incorporates [[evapotranspiration]] along with temperature and [[precipitation]] information and is used in studying [[biological diversity]] and how [[climate change]] affects it. The major classifications in Thornthwaite's climate classification are microthermal, mesothermal, and megathermal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=All About Climate |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/all-about-climate |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Education {{!}} National Geographic Society |language=en}}</ref> Finally, the Bergeron and [[Spatial Synoptic Classification system]]s focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region.

[[Paleoclimatology]] is the study of ancient climates. [[Paleoclimatologists]] seek to explain climate variations for all parts of the [[Earth]] during any given [[Geology|geologic]] period, beginning with the time of the Earth's formation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=paleoclimatology {{!}} science |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/paleoclimatology |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=Britannica |language=en |archive-date=2022-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901163506/https://www.britannica.com/science/paleoclimatology |url-status=live }}</ref> Since very few direct observations of climate were available before the 19th century, [[paleoclimate]]s are inferred from [[Proxy (climate)|proxy variables]]. They include non-biotic evidence—such as [[Sediment|sediments]] found in [[lake beds]] and [[ice core]]s—and [[Biotic component|biotic]] evidence—such as [[Dendrochronology|tree rings]] and coral. [[Climate model]]s are mathematical models of past, present, and future climates. Climate change may occur over long and short timescales due to various factors. Recent warming is discussed in terms of [[global warming]], which results in redistributions of [[Life|biota]]. For example, as climate scientist [[Lesley Ann Hughes]] has written: "a 3&nbsp;°C [5&nbsp;°F] change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately {{Convert|300|–|400|km|mi|disp=sqbr|abbr=on}} in latitude (in the temperate zone) or {{Convert|500|m|ft|disp=sqbr|abbr=on}} in elevation. Therefore, species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in [[latitude]] in response to shifting climate zones."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Biological consequences of globalwarming: is the signal already|last=Hughes|first=Lesley|year=2000|pages=56}}</ref><ref name="TIEE-20000201">{{cite journal |last=Hughes |first=Leslie |title=Biological consequences of global warming: is the signal already apparent? |url=http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(99)01764-4 |date=1 February 2000 |journal=[[Trends in Ecology and Evolution]] |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=56–61 |doi=10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01764-4 |pmid=10652556 |access-date=November 17, 2016 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012051437/http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(99)01764-4 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>