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Physical Environment > Climate |
This site tells the story of the history of the universe. Click Earlier and Later to follow the story. Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand. |
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Where weather is short term and local, the long term average of weather over a wide area is called climate. Changes in climate have very important effects upon all life on Earth, including humans. We need to understand the long term patterns of the climate, and use those patterns to predict what will happen.
This is especially important today, as the climate is changing. 1997, for example, was the warmest year since global measurements began in 1860. The indications are that 1998 will be even warmer, a year which saw the largest El Niño on record, causing forest fires in Indonesia, torrential rains in Peru and East Africa among other problems. Perhaps we should think about climate in two ways, the short term climate which covers tens or hundreds of years, and the long term climate which covers thousands or millions of years. It turns out we are able to make computer models of short term climate which are fairly accurate. Current predictions are that the short term global climate will continue to get warmer, due to human production of greenhouse gases. The rise is predicted to be about 4°C by 2100. However there are indications that the long term global climate might be cooling. |
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Physical Environment > Climate |
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