We explain what the weather is, the variables it considers, its branches and importance. Also, differences with the weather.
What is climatology?
Climatology is the branch of geography what he studies weather and its variations throughout the weather. This has been one of the subjects of study of geography since its inception, since the climate and the conditions of the atmosphere are linked to different aspects of human life, such as agricultural activity or the prevention of natural disasters.
The climate tends to be regular over long periods of time, such as geological periods. It obeys specific climatic cycles that have a decisive influence on the directions of plant and animal life in a region determined.
But at the same time, the climate varies naturally, depending on various geological, hydrological and atmospheric conditions. All of them are object of study of climatology.
To do this, this science describes variations in temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, winds, etc. This is how he makes records known as climagrams, with which it tracks the climatic behavior of a region and compares it with that of past times.
Climatology should not be confused with meteorology, as well as the weather (long term) should not be confused with the atmospheric weather (short term).
Branches of climatology
Climatology has the following branches or subdivisions:
- Physical climatology. It focuses on the study of climatic elements (wind, humidity, precipitation, etc.) from a statistical approach, as well as the causal relationships between them.
- Regional climatology. As its name implies, it focuses its efforts on the study of the discrete or typical climatic features of a certain region.
- Dynamic meteorology. Emerged in the late 1960s, it deals with the simulation and determination of climate change due to the effect of global warming, using for this fundamental equations of meteorology.
- Bioclimatology. The study of the correlations between climate and life, that is, how both things influence each other.
- Paleoclimatology. It is about the study of the climate in ancient geological eras, based on its evidence in the fossil record and in the composition of the rocks of the underground substrates.
Importance of climatology
Climate changes drastically impact our civilization. On the one hand, due to the possibility of catastrophes of climatic origin. On the other hand, the slow change from one climate to another supposes the greater or lesser availability of resources. For example, him Water disappears in the desertification processes and with it the fertility of the soils and the possibility of plant life.
The study of climate offers conclusions regarding the determinants of these changes. Thus, it allows to take corrective measures in time or even to understand the possible climatic futures of the planet Earth, since judging by the evidence of you were geological In the past, our planet did not always have the same set of climates that it has today.
Climatology and meteorology
Climatology and meteorology are Sciences related but different. Both use the same parameters of analysis and in principle they have the same object of study, but from very different perspectives.
On the one hand, climatology studies the climate, that is, the trend in the variation patterns of temperature, humidity and other elements of the atmosphere over long periods of about 30 years on average.
On the other hand, meteorology studies the same variables that climatology analyzes, but in a short period of time, enough to make predictions or anticipations regarding the coming climate in a specific region of the world.