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climate — English
The average condition of the atmosphere – and therefore the weather (see “weather”) – in a certain area over a long period of time, that is at least 20 years, but preferably 35 years. By recording the weather in an area daily for at least 20 or more years, generalisations about the weather can be made and we can predict the type of weather that will prevail in a certain area at any specific time of the year. The generalised weather of an area, is called the climate of the area, and from many years of recorded facts, we can describe the prevailing climate in that area. The climate of an area is determined by its latitudinal location, its altitude, its location in relation to the ocean, and many other local conditions. Any area may experience short-term deviations form the expected (“normal”) climate. Dry seasons, even dry periods as long as a year or more, may occur in an area where the “normal”, prevailing climate of the area is humid all year round. Cold areas may experience atypical warm spells, dry areas may experience atypical wet seasons, and so on, but every area on Earth has a “typical” or “normal” climate which is the generalized description of what the weather conditions had been like for many decades. Climates may, however, change because of natural causes, but such changes happen over very long periods like hundreds or thousands of years. (See “climate change” and “climate variability”.)
