What term describes the long-term average of weather conditions in a region?

What term describes the long-term average of weather conditions in a region?

• A. Weather
• B. Rainfall
• C. Climate
• D. Humidity

Answer: (C)

Understanding the difference between weather and climate helps you pick the right term. Weather is what you experience day to day—the current temperature, rain, wind, and humidity. Climate is the long-term pattern of those conditions in a region, usually averaged over many years (often about 30 years). That long-term average shows the typical conditions you can expect in a place, such as a desert being hot and dry or a coastal area having milder temperatures and more rain. Rainfall describes precipitation and is a part of weather, not the overall long-term pattern. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air at a given moment, another weather variable. So the term for the long-term average of weather conditions is climate.

Understanding the difference between weather and climate helps you pick the right term. Weather is what you experience day to day—the current temperature, rain, wind, and humidity. Climate is the long-term pattern of those conditions in a region, usually averaged over many years (often about 30 years). That long-term average shows the typical conditions you can expect in a place, such as a desert being hot and dry or a coastal area having milder temperatures and more rain. Rainfall describes precipitation and is a part of weather, not the overall long-term pattern. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air at a given moment, another weather variable. So the term for the long-term average of weather conditions is climate.