Climate is the earth's weather averaged over long time periods. Climate science focuses on understanding how any changes to the land, sea and atmosphere cause variations to climate, and how any changes to the climate impacts the environment and the societies that depend on it. Part of this includes understanding how human activity acts as a driver for changes to the climate. Climate science requires a detailed understanding of the relationships between the land, sea and atmosphere.
Climate change science aims to understand the causes and effects of the earth's changing climate.
The planet's climate has varied since it's formation six billion years ago as the relationship between the sea, land and atmosphere has evolved; driven by external factors such as the sun's radiation and events on earth such as volcanic eruptions. As human activity has increased, this has become a significant driver of further change.
The earth has three main systems: the oceans, land and atmosphere. Climate is a function of the energy interactions between each system. How the land, sea and atmosphere interact will drive the resulting long-term average weather across the globe. These interactions are non-linear and contain multiple feedback loops that act to re-inforce or reduce an initial change. Climate science is focussed on understanding these interactions and, in particular, what drives changes in the relationship between the earth systems and the resulting impact on climate.
What is Climate?
When climate changes, it impacts upon the environment that life on earth occupies and relies on. As such, climate change can, and is, impacting upon the building blocks of life on earth: the societies, economies and natural environments in which we and other life on earth exists.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("IPCC") was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation and United Nations Environment Programme to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC is recognised as the global authority on the science of climate change, and more information can be found on their website (Link). This section provides a high level overview of the science.
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