We explain what climatology is, the variables it considers, its branches and importance. Also, differences with the weather.
What is climatology?
The climatology It is the branch of geography that studies climate and its variations over time. This has been one of the topics of study of geography since its beginnings, 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.
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 paths of plant and animal life in a given region.
But at the same time, the climate varies naturally, depending on various geological, hydrological and atmospheric conditions. All of them are the subject of climatology study.
For this, this science describes variations in temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, winds, etc Thus he creates records known as climogramswith which it tracks the climatic behavior of a region and compares it with that of past times.
Climatology should not be confused with meteorology, just as climate (long term) should not be confused with weather (short term).
See also: Difference between climate and weather
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 indicates, it focuses its efforts on the study of 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 global warming, using 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 the study of the climate in ancient geological eras, based on evidence in the fossil record and the composition of the rocks of the underground substrates.
Importance of climatology
Climate alterations drastically impact our civilization. On the one hand, due to the possibility of climate-related catastrophes. On the other hand, the slow change from one climate to another implies the greater or lesser availability of resources. For example, water disappears in desertification processes and with it the fertility of the soil and the possibility of plant life.
The study of climate offers conclusions regarding the determining factors of these changes. So, allows taking corrective measures in time or even understanding the possible climate futures of planet Earth since judging by the evidence of past geological eras, our planet did not always have the same set of climates that it has today.
Climatology and meteorology
Climatology and meteorology are related but different sciences. Both use the same analysis parameters and in principle 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 patterns of variation in temperature, humidity and other elements of the atmosphere over long periods of around 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.
References
- “Climatology” on Wikipedia.
- “Climatology” at INTA Chicos.
- “What is the difference between climatology and meteorology?” (video) on Basque Radio Television (EiTB).
- “Climatology” in Science Direct.
- “Climatology” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
