Weather
The venerable Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines weather as:
The state of the atmosphere with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness
Climate
National Geographic defines climate this way:
“Climate is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Weather can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month or even year-to-year. A region’s weather patterns, usually tracked for at least 30 years, are considered its climate.”
Think of climate as the macro-predictable weather trends of a region.
Climates are often classified by the Koppen classification system. Check out this table from the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy:
| Code | Description | Group | Precipitation Type | Level of Heat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Af | Tropical rainforest climate | Tropical | Rainforest | |
| Am | Tropical monsoon climate | Tropical | Monsoon | |
| As | Tropical dry savanna climate | Tropical | Savanna, Dry | |
| Aw | Tropical savanna, wet | Tropical | Savanna, Wet | |
| BSh | Hot semi-arid (steppe) climate | Arid | Steppe | Hot |
| BSk | Cold semi-arid (steppe) climate | Arid | Steppe | Cold |
| BWh | Hot deserts climate | Arid | Desert | Hot |
| BWk | Cold desert climate | Arid | Desert | Cold |
| Cfa | Humid subtropical climate | Temperate | Without dry season | Hot summer |
| Cfb | Temperate oceanic climate | Temperate | Without dry season | Warm summer |
| Cfc | Subpolar oceanic climate | Temperate | Without dry season | Cold summer |
| Csa | Hot-summer Mediterranean climate | Temperate | Dry summer | Hot summer |
| Csb | Warm-summer Mediterranean climate | Temperate | Dry summer | Warm summer |
| Csc | Cool-summer Mediterranean climate | Temperate | Dry summer | Cold summer |
| Cwa | Monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate | Temperate | Dry winter | Hot summer |
| Cwb | Subtropical highland climate or temperate oceanic climate with dry winters | Temperate | Dry winter | Warm summer |
| Cwc | Cold subtropical highland climate or subpolar oceanic climate with dry winters | Temperate | Dry winter | Cold summer |
| Dfa | Hot-summer humid continental climate | Cold (continental) | Without dry season | Hot summer |
| Dfb | Warm-summer humid continental climate | Cold (continental) | Without dry season | Warm summer |
| Dfc | Subarctic climate | Cold (continental) | Without dry season | Cold summer |
| Dfd | Extremely cold subarctic climate | Cold (continental) | Without dry season | Very cold winter |
| Dsa | Hot, dry-summer continental climate | Cold (continental) | Dry summer | Hot summer |
| Dsb | Warm, dry-summer continental climate | Cold (continental) | Dry summer | Warm summer |
| Dsc | Dry-summer subarctic climate | Cold (continental) | Dry summer | Cold summer |
| Dwa | Monsoon-influenced hot-summer humid continental climate | Cold (continental) | Dry winter | Hot summer |
| Dwb | Monsoon-influenced warm-summer humid continental climate | Cold (continental) | Dry winter | Warm summer |
| Dwc | Monsoon-influenced subarctic climate | Cold (continental) | Dry winter | Cold summer |
| Dwd | Monsoon-influenced extremely cold subarctic climate | Cold (continental) | Dry winter | Very cold winter |
| EF | Ice cap climate | Polar | Ice cap | |
| ET | Tundra | Polar | Tundra |
Climate can vary widely by elevation. In fact, a single mountain can host 4-5 different climate zones!
Here is a Wikipedia map showing the general distribution of climate zones across the world.
