1.3. Regional and Global Climate

When we say about climate change, I think let us start our discussion with the basic understanding on of what is climate, what is weather. Mark Twain simply tells climate is what we expect and weather it is what we get.

It can tell imagine, you are going to Mississippi or you are going to the Scandinavian countries or the arctic circle areas, it will tell you what kind of climate you are going to face so, you may have to prepare what kind of clothes you have to purchase, we have to buy you know for the harsh living conditions you may have to cope up with -20, -30 degrees. So, in that way a regional level understanding will give you some preparation. Whereas in a weather, it helps you to decide what clothes to wear each day, is it going to rain tomorrow, is it going to get sunshine today, is it a sunny day today right, so accordingly you can even plan especially in a construction department in the European countries because daylighting is an important aspect so, weather plays an important role, weather forecast plays an important role.

Climate refers to the average weather conditions in a specific area over a long period, while weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere. An understanding of each helps with preparation and decisions. For example, if you know the climate of a place, you can pack appropriately for vacations, preparing for cold or warm weather. Conversely, weather forecasts help you decide what to wear and how to plan your daily activities.

Think of climate like the trends in fashion that change seasonally; you expect to see winter clothes during winter months based on years of observation, while weather is like checking today’s forecast to determine if you need an umbrella or a jacket.

Again, we are talking about different climatic zones, in a globally how they are divided like we are talking about the tropical climates, temperate climates, so there is a different scales of climate which we are also talking about. For instance, the climate in the one area like the Midwest or Hawaii is called a regional climate so, when we talk about a particular zone or a particular area, geographical region, it is refers to the regional climate. Whereas, the average climate around the world is called the global climate so, here we are talking about the one-degree rise of the global around the world.

Regional climate refers to the specific climate characteristics of a local area, such as the Midwest or Hawaii, which can differ greatly even within the same country. Global climate, on the other hand, averages these regional climates to represent the Earth as a whole. Understanding the difference is vital to comprehending climate change impacts, as rising temperatures globally can affect various regions differently.

If you imagine a school with many classrooms each having different temperatures due to varying conditions (like a room with many windows vs. a basement), regional climate is akin to the individual classroom temps, while global climate represents the school's overall temperature.

And weather; as we all know that every day when we switch on the TV news channels, so at least the last 3, 4 minutes, the weather reporter comes and explains that in your region or in the country, what is the weather forecast and how it is going to be, what kind of storm events are going to face in which part of the area, so that it will give an alert situation for the communities to prepare themselves.

Weather forecasts provide daily and short-term predictions about what the weather will be like. This information is essential for communities to prepare for severe weather events, such as storms or heatwaves, allowing them to take necessary precautions to ensure safety and minimize damage.

A weather forecast is like a fire drill at school; it prepares you for what to do in case of an emergency, ensuring everyone knows how to respond safely and effectively.

But now, when we talk about seasons, earlier we could see a very good diversity at least our great grandfather’s time or father’s time even in our generation, when we were kids we could able to see a good difference in over the seasons you know in terms of its landscape, in terms of its flora, in terms of its fauna. But in the recent times, how many of us have witnessed that this variance has gradually coming down, in fact, if we talk about a country like Scandinavia and Sweden, if you go up north we have the snow cover for about 8 months in an year but now, it has gradually come to 6 months in a year.

Seasons refer to the distinct periods of the year characterized by specific weather patterns. Traditionally, these seasons displayed noticeable differences in flora and fauna, but recent observations indicate that these variations are diminishing. For instance, in some regions of Scandinavia, the duration of snow cover has decreased, meaning winter conditions are less prominent than they were in the past. This shift indicates broader changes due to climate change.

Think of how the seasons are like the flavors in a set of ice cream; each one is distinct and expected. If suddenly, all you had was vanilla ice cream without the variety, it would be less exciting and potentially unhealthy — this is similar to losing seasonal diversity.

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