Climate

The climate (ancient Greek: κλίμα) is the weather averaged over a long period of time. A descriptive saying is that "climate is what you expect, weather is what you get." The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) glossary definition is:

Climate Indices

Scientists use climate indices in their attempt to characterize and understand the various climate mechanisms that culminate in our daily weather. Much in the way the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is based on the stock prices of 30 companies, is used to represent the fluctuations in the stock market as a whole, climate indices are used to represent the essential elements of climate. Climate indices are generally identified or devised with the twin objectives of simplicity and completeness, and each typically represents the status and timing of the climate factor they represent. By their very nature, indices are simple, and combine many details into an generalized, overall description of the atmosphere or ocean which can be used to characterize the factors which impact the global climate system. Because the climate indices are generally determined from measurements made in a localized area, they can have impacts in other areas around the globe, through processes sometimes called teleconnections.

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References:

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• Why and how do scientists study climate change in the Arctic? What are the Arctic climate indices?
• Climate index and mode information