Weather is what's happening outside right now — and it affects every living thing on Earth every single day!
Weather is the short-term condition of the atmosphere — what it's like outside today: sunny, rainy, hot, cold, windy. Climate is the long-term average pattern of weather in a region, measured over 30 or more years. A simple way to remember it: "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get!"
Click any topic to dive deeper into Earth's fascinating weather systems.
Why do we have seasons?
How rain is made
Thunderstorms, tornadoes & more
5 climate zones of Earth
Highest air temperature ever recorded — Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913
Lowest temperature ever recorded — Vostok Station, Antarctica, on July 21, 1983
Fastest wind speed ever recorded — an F5 tornado near Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, in 1999
Most rain in a single year — recorded at Cherrapunji, India — over 43 feet of rain!
Weather is driven by the uneven heating of Earth's surface by the sun. The equator receives more direct sunlight than the poles, creating temperature differences. Warm air rises and cool air sinks, driving the circulation of the atmosphere. Add in Earth's rotation (the Coriolis effect), the ocean's influence, and topography — and you get the complex, ever-changing weather we experience every day.
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