Weather and climate – what’s the difference?

This year we have seen extreme weather events including flooding, droughts, heatwaves and fires in this country and around the world. As a result of climate change these are expected to become more common and more extreme. If we don’t act now, there will be more disruption to and higher prices for our food supplies, rising sea levels and people needing to move due to land becoming uninhabitable.

The change in climate is also having a major impact on nature. The UN Conference for Biodiversity (COP15) is taking place from December 7 and global leaders are expected to agree targets to prevent further losses and restore nature. Climate Action Stokesley and Villages very much hope that the Prime Minister attends this conference.

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Climate, as the writer Robert A Heinlein said "is what we expect, weather is what we get". Climate is the average of weather conditions, including temperature, rain and wind over the last, usually, 30 years. The climate is regional in nature and is predictable over time. Weather is local in nature and very changeable even over a few minutes or a few hundred metres.

The temperature change chart for Durham, the nearest weather station providing such charts, shows that our climate is getting warmer. The consequence of climate change is that the North Yorkshire climate is likely to be hotter and drier in the summer and warmer and wetter in the winter. However, what the weather is like on any given day may be very different. Global warming will not prevent occasional very cold weather.

A temperature change chart for Durham Credit: Professor Ed Hawkins (University of Reading) – https://showyourstripes.info/c/europe/unitedkingdom/durham/

Our weather is influenced by the Pennines to the west and the North Sea to the east. The Pennines see high rainfall and cooler temperatures, the rest of the area is in a relative rain shadow. The Pennines protect the area from the prevailing winds that bring rain from the south west. The coastal areas are generally cooler in the summer and relatively warmer in the winter. So, the climate would say that we should expect average daily high temperatures of around 19C, but we should not be surprised if the actual temperatures are hotter or cooler.

Changes in the climate occur because of internal variability, which could be random or predictable cycles. These include the great ocean currents, the Gulf Stream which keeps the UK warm, is one example. External influences include factors such as the Earth’s orbit, output from the sun and volcanoes. Now the single biggest influence on the climate is human activity resulting in the release of greenhouse gases and changes in land use. This is causing higher temperatures, as shown by the temperature chart and changes to rainfall patterns. Just this summer saw temperatures go over 40C in the UK for the first time ever.

During the UN Conference for Biodiversity, Climate Action Stokesley and Villages is having a stall on December 17, between 10am and 12pm, next to Chapters Deli in Stokesley. Come and find out more and sign a petition to ensure that Rishi Sunak, our MP and PM, commits to protecting nature in the UK.