What Is the Difference Between Weather and Climate?

You probably want to pack sunscreen and leave your snow pants at home if you ever go to Hawaii. What about if you traveled to Antarctica in July? Do you think you would need a swimsuit? Not unless you wanted to turn into an icicle! You might freeze if you swim in Antarctica—even in the summer!

Why is it so warm throughout the year in Hawaii and so cold throughout the year in Antarctica? It is because Hawaii has a warm climate and Antarctica has a cold climate. Still, it might snow on occasion on the top of a mountain in Hawaii or be sunny during the day in Antarctica because the weather can change in these locations.

“Weather is the atmospheric conditions, such as temperature, wind, or precipitation (rain or snowfall), at a given time. Weather can change from day to do or even throughout the day!”1 But climate is the average weather conditions over a long period of time.

Let’s look at God’s Word, the Bible, to learn a little more about the difference between weather and climate.

In the time of Noah, all people, except Noah and his family, had rebelled against God. Therefore, God said he would destroy the world by a great, global flood. The Bible tells us, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:11–12).

What type of weather did the people experience? God caused rain to fall upon the earth during the flood! Rain is a type of weather. The flood was a major catastrophic event that caused changes to the surface of the earth, which would have also caused extreme weather conditions. The changes in weather patterns because of the flood led to changes in climate.

Droughts are also climate events. They have long dry periods without rain. In Genesis 12 and Jeremiah 14, God describes a great famine and drought on the land:

“Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land” (Genesis 12:10).

“Because of the ground that is dismayed, since there is no rain on the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads” (Jeremiah 14:4).

For example, there was a lot of volcanic activity during the flood. Hot magma was being poured into the water, causing the water temperature to rise. As water vapor began to rise into the air, it began to cool because the clouds and the ash from the volcanos reflected more sunlight back into space. This cooling effect caused precipitation in the form of snow to fall from the sky. Lots of snow and ice built up over hundreds of years, which caused large glaciers of ice to form—leading to the ice age. The ice age was a major climate event in earth’s history!

Weather and climate are similar, but it is the average weather conditions over a long period of time that make up an area’s climate. The ice age resulting from the flood and droughts described in the Bible are just a few examples of how weather patterns over a long period of time can affect an area’s climate. You can continue to read God’s Word to learn about other historical records where weather and climate are talked about!