Final answer:
Climate refers to the long-term average atmospheric conditions such as temperature and rainfall patterns over decades, while weather represents the short-term conditions of the atmosphere that can change from day to day.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between climate and weather boils down to time scale. Climate is what you expect; it refers to the long-term average atmospheric conditions in a particular area and includes patterns of temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, and seasons. Climate tells us what to expect based on long-term patterns, such as knowing that summers are warm and winters are cold in certain regions. On the other hand, weather is the condition of the atmosphere over a short period of time. When you look out the window or check a daily forecast, you’re dealing with weather. It involves temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure as they are right now, or will be in the near future.
For example, while the climate in a tropical rainforest is consistently hot and humid throughout the year, the weather can change by the day, or even by the hour, featuring abrupt rainfalls or sudden spikes in temperature. While long-term climatic changes may evolve over decades and can significantly impact agriculture and sea levels, weather variations are short-term events with immediate but transient effects.