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Climate variability is the term to describe variations in the mean state and other characteristics of climate (such as chances or possibility of extreme weather, etc.) "on all spatial and temporal scales beyond that of individual weather events." Some of the variability does not appear to be caused by known systems and occurs at seemingly ...
Over the years, the definitions of climate variability and the related term climate change have shifted. While the term climate change now implies change that is both long-term and of human causation, in the 1960s the word climate change was used for what we now describe as climate variability, that is, climatic inconsistencies and anomalies. [28]
Climate concerns the atmospheric condition during an extended to indefinite period of time; weather is the condition of the atmosphere during a relative brief period of time. The main topics of research are the study of climate variability, mechanisms of climate changes and modern climate change.
Climate variability and change occurs when changes in Earth's climate system result in new weather patterns that remain in place for an extended period of time. This length of time can be as short as a few decades to as long as millions of years.
The climate system will show internal variability both in the presence and absence of forcings imposed on it. This internal variability is a result of complex interactions between components of the climate system, such as the coupling between the atmosphere and ocean. [16] An example of internal variability is the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.
For the climate system, the term refers to a critical threshold at which global or regional climate changes from one stable state to another stable state.". [15] In ecosystems and in social systems, a tipping point can trigger a regime shift, a major systems reorganisation into a new stable state. [16] Such regime shifts need not be harmful.
Also called global warming denial. climate change feedback A natural phenomenon that may increase or decrease the warming that eventually results from a change in radiative forcing. climate change mitigation approaches to limit global warming, primarily by the substitution of fossil fuels with low-carbon sources of energy climate commitment How much future warming is "committed", even if ...
Some climate change effects: wildfire caused by heat and dryness, bleached coral caused by ocean acidification and heating, environmental migration caused by desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall ...