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We make it simple for anyone to plant trees, and together we can make an incredible impact. Learn more
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Become a business partner to improve your company’s sustainability initiatives and make an impact. Learn more
See how your support and leadership can help us fund reforestation efforts across the globe. Learn more
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Read about stories from the field, interesting facts about trees and get your healthy dose of nature. Visit our blog
Comprised of lesson plans, learning modules, resources, and activities, our T.R.E.E.S. School Program is the perfect addition to your curriculum. Learn more
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Our fan-favorite Reforestation T-Shirt. Wear it with pride to show your support of reforesting our planet, one tree at a time. Shop now
Give the gift that lasts a lifetime! Choose an image, write your personalized message and select a delivery date to gift a tree. Gift a tree
In the realm of earth sciences, climate and weather are important factors to shaping our environment. In tandem, they give us white-fluffy snowstorms, thunder and lightning, warm summers, and chilly falls. They sustain the conditions for live to thrive, and are the forces of dynamic energy that have shaped our planet since the beginning.
The two also play an integral role in the science around global warming and its impact on shifting weather patterns.
But weather and climate are distinct features of earth’s atmosphere, despite the terms occasionally being used interchangeably. So, what is the difference between climate and weather? One way to describe it would be "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get".
Climate is described as a predicted long-termweather pattern within a region. Climate is why the Caribbean is known as a sun-soaked beach paradise, and Antarctica a bone-chilling expanse of ice.
While weather may change within an hour, the climate shifts over the course of decades and centuries. Unlike a meteorologist who makes a weather forecast based on data gathered that same day, climatologists collect data for periods of 30 years or more to determine future weather patterns.
Weather is what you check every morning before heading out the door. It dictates if you need rain boots or flip-flops, shorts or a beanie. It is the short-term(minutes-to-months) state of the atmosphere in a specific location at a specific time. The weather is right outside your window.
Weather is often conceived of in terms of measurements like temperature, precipitation, humidity, and air pressure. It is highly localized and can vary widely over short geographic distances.
Climate and weather are always changing, and, currently, changing in the direction of global warming. How do we know the planet is warming? According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1997. And the National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration (NOAA) reports that recent decades have been the warmest since at least around 1000 AD. Those are exactly the kind of patterns that climate scientists study. And as the climate changes, weather changes too, and not always in the ways you'd expect. Extreme weather events have been increasing both in frequency and intensity in the past few decades, as revealed in the latest IPPC Report on Climate Change. According to the World Resources Institute, in 2018 we witnessed the second highest number of category 5 cyclones in history; a record 1.6 million acres of California forest lost to wildfires; record levels of flooding in Japan, heat waves in New England during winter, ice storms in sunny Florida, as well as two of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history. And let's not forget the polar vortex! It was due to diminishing polar ice that some parts of North America, Europe, and Russia experienced extreme cold in 2017. It turns out that with less polar ice, cold blasts don't stay in their typical patterns, they start to travel below the Arctic. Who knew!? Well... climate scientists did! And that's just the tip of the metaphorical iceberg when it comes to unusual weather, something we should brace ourselves for, because it's not going to stop anytime soon.
It can definitely sound theoretical if you haven't been affected much yet, but it matters because the changing climate hints at what you're likely to see more of in the future, so you can be prepared for the unpredictable. Winters could get warmer, summers drier, floods might be more regular. We need to be informed, adapt, and play a role in the ways that we know humanity can actually address this situation. Atmospheric carbon, methane, and other pollutants have contributed to global warming, and we can definitely do something about that! By advocating for a transition to renewable energy, contributing to environmental restoration, reducing your carbon footprint, and of course, supporting reforestation to absorb more of these greenhouse gasses, we can make a real impact. Not just for humanity, but for all the life forms we share the planet with.
26/03/2024 by Meaghan Weeden
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