The Climate Change Collective is an initiative where the blogging community unites behind a common goal—spreading awareness of environmental issues. This month, I have the pleasure of writing the lead post. It’s about a distinction many people don’t make when the temperature turns cold in winter—the difference between weather and climate.

The difference between weather and climate

Here in Canada, talking about the weather is a national pastime. I suppose we can attribute that to the fact that we live in a country where we are fortunate enough to experience all four seasons. Although we’re known for cold winters, we also enjoy spring renewal, hot summers, and glorious fall colours.

Right now, we’re in the dead of a Canadian winter. Groundhog Day is coming up later this week and no matter what your local rodent says, we’re pretty much guaranteed six or more weeks of winter before we’ll see any sign of spring weather.  

Until the middle of January, when a polar vortex plunged the entire country into a deep freeze, the winter of 2023/2024 had been milder than most here in southern Ontario. In fact, December was the second warmest on record. (Source: Waterloo Region Record) As they do every time we experience a cold snap, the climate naysayers inevitably commented, “See…it’s cold outside. Global warming is all fake!”

It happens every year. In fact, I’m sure I’ve jokingly made similar comments in the past. To respond to those kinds of comments, we need to first understand the difference between weather and climate.

Weather and climate are not the same

Although we often use the terms interchangeably, weather and climate are not the same. Encyclopaedia Britannica reports the main difference between weather and climate is duration.

Weather is a short-term condition. We all know the weather changes from day to day, or even from minute to minute. Simply put, weather is what’s happening in a given location at a specific point in time.

Climate, on the other hand, refers to the average conditions in an area over a long period of time—typically 30 years or more.

Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.

U.S. National Ocean Service

So, while today’s weather forecast might seem pretty typical for this time of year, climate is indeed changing.

Evidence that the climate is warming

Last year, I read an article about climate change in Maclean’s—Canada’s national news magazine. Canada in the Year 2060 spoke of how the current trajectory of climate change will affect Canadian culture. One simple example that gets to the very fabric of our being is the backyard ice rink. Many a Canadian hockey star learned to skate and play hockey on a frozen pond or backyard rink. The article forecasts that skating on outdoor rinks and ponds could be a thing of the past thanks to climate change.

I’ve seen examples of this in my own life. My daughters are both in their early 20s. When they were small, they regularly skated on the frozen pond at their aunt’s house in wintertime. In recent years, opportunities to skate on that pond have been fewer and further between. A simple thing but clear evidence that our climate is warming.

A little further afield, images of skaters on the world’s largest skating rink, the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, are almost as big a symbol of a Canadian winter as the backyard rink. Last year, for the first time in over 50 years, there was no skating on the Rideau Canal thanks to no ice. And at time of writing just 1.9 kilomentres of the 7.8 kilometre rink had opened for skating in 2024.

In a country known for winter sports, the sight of green ski slopes, idle snowmobiles, and puddles where ice rinks should be, is alarming.

And it’s not just winter we should be concerned about. 2023 was the worst year ever for wildfires in Canada. At the end of December, zombie fires were still burning in British Columbia. That’s an ominous sign that we’re in for another summer of hazy skies and air quality warnings in 2024.  

Responding to climate change deniers

So, while it may be cold outside today, and last summer might have been cooler and rainier than most here in southern Ontario, there’s no denying that our climate has warmed in the last century.

Climate change deniers don’t want to understand the difference between weather and climate. They will take advantage of every cold snap or rainy summer weekend to spread their message that climate change isn’t a problem. Knowledge is power so here are some global climate change facts to help you respond to those comments. (Source: NASA)

• Global warming is occurring at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years.
• Since the late 19^th century, the Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by 2 degrees Farenheit, or 1 degree Celsius. This increase has been largely driven by human activity—primarily carbon dioxide emissions.
• Global sea levels rose about 8 inches (20 centimetres) in the last century. In the last two decades, sea levels increased at about double the rate of the last century.
• Glaciers are retreating and arctic sea ice is declining rapidly, putting many species at risk as lack of ice makes it more difficult for them to hunt for food.

Finally, here are some excellent resources for climate information in various countries and regions:

• U.S. National Climate Assessment 
• Climate Atlas of Canada
• Climate Change in Australia
• U.K. Climate Maps and Data
• European Environment Agency

We need to act now

Sadly, governments are slow to act, and the fossil fuel lobby is powerful. Although the agreement from COP28 to “transition away from fossil fuels” is a step in the right direction, we need to keep the pressure on our politicians to do the right thing.

Our future depends on it.

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About the Climate Change Collective

The Climate Change Collective started after I left a comment on a blog post by Jamie Ad Stories. Jamie and I wanted to find a way to keep the climate change message top of mind for everyone, so I put out a tweet to see what kind of interest there would be in a climate-change-related blogging collaboration. The Climate Change Collective was born!

The members of the collective take turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their unique perspective about climate change. After the post is published, the rest of the group keeps the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas.

If you’re a like-minded blogger and would like to join our collective, please get in touch. More voices joining the conversation means more attention to the problems plaguing our planet!

More Climate Change Collective posts

The Climate Change Collective series has been going strong for over two years. See Two years of the Climate Change Collective series for a recap of the posts we published in the first two years.

Recent posts in the series

• Is Climate Change Overlooked in Schools? – Jamie Ad Stories
• Highlighting Useful Ways to be Sustainable This Winter – Transatlantic Notes

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What changes have you seen in your region’s climate? Join the conversation below.