Weather is the condition of the atmosphere over a brief period of time. Climate represents the composite of the day-to-day weather over a longer period of time. Climate is the statistics of weather, usually over a 30-year interval. It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these variables in a given region A region's climate is generated by the climate system, which has five components: atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. The earth-ocean-atmosphere system may be divided into a number of zones with each traditionally studied by a separate scientific discipline. The atmosphere is the component of the system studied by climatologists and meteorologists. Climatology is the scientific study of climates, which is defined as the mean weather conditions over a period of time. A branch of study within atmospheric sciences, it also takes into account the variables and averages of short-team and long-team weather conditions.
Climatology is different than meteorology and can be divided into different areas of study. Various approaches to this field can be taken, including paleoclimatology, which focuses on studying the climate over the course of the Earth's existence by examining records of tree rings, rock band sediment, and ice cores. Historical climatology focuses primarily on climate changes throughout history and the effects of the climate on people and events over time. Though both climatology are areas of study that are considered branches of similar areas of study, climatology differs from meteorology because its focus is on averages of weather and climatic conditions over a long period of time. Meteorology focuses more on current weather conditions such as humidity, air pressure, and temperatures and forecasting the short-term weather conditions to come. This book is a compilation of chapters that discuss the most vital and fundamental concepts in the field of climatology. The topics covered in this extensive book deal with the core areas of this subject. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge.
Wally Bond completed his Post Graduation in Applied Meteorology and Climatology from the Public University, Diliman. His primary interests are ecological monitoring using remote sensing and the effects of climate variability on vegetation. He is engaged in the Technological University at Phayao, as a Senior Science Research Specialist working on LiDAR mapping of agricultural resources. Bond has been the recipient of two awards for his research work in the field of global climate models, weather forecasting and urban climatology. He is a prolific writer and his works have been published worldwide. He is a regular contributor to scientific journals; and has many articles and book chapters to his credit.
