Weather and Climate

Weather

It is the state of the atmosphere to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Since we experience one of these conditions stated above every day, we can say that, weather is the day to day conditions of the atmosphere of a place at a particular time.

Elements of Weather

The basic elements of weather include: temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, sunshine, wind, precipitation and cloudiness

• Temperature: It is simply measurement of the atmosphere in terms of heat or cold. It influences all other basic weather conditions. The thermometer is used for measuring temperature.

• Humidity: It describes the quantity of water vapour in the atmosphere. Humidity can be measured by tools such as the Hygrometer which is the most common Psychomotor and dew-point sensor.

• Atmospheric Pressure: It simply refers to the heaviness or weight of air in the atmosphere. A pressure is measured using a barometer.

• Sunshine: This refers to the light and heat energy received from the sun at a particular place. It is measured by the sunshine recorder.

• Wind: It can be defined as air in motion that moves from high pressure to those of low pressure and it is measured primarily using a wind vane or wind stock. However, the Anemometer is used to measure the speed of the wind.

• Precipitation: It refers to any form of water resulting from rapid condensation of moisture. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, fog, mist, hail, sleet and drizzle. Rainfall is measured using the rain gauge.

• Cloudiness: It refers to the state of clouds in a given area and time. Different types of clouds signal different weather conditions. For instance, lighter clouds indicate little or no precipitation while dark heavy clouds point to heavy rain or thunderstorms.