Weather describes short-term atmospheric conditions; climate describes statistical patterns over longer periods. A temperature anomaly is a difference from a stated reference average, not the absolute temperature. Compare the same baseline, area and averaging period. A year below the previous year can still be warmer than the baseline. Read graph labels: illustrative data are not current global measurements.
Long-term climate interpretation draws on air and ocean temperatures, ice changes, sea level and other evidence. Natural influences include volcanic activity, solar variation and internal variability. The dominant cause of recent global warming is human-driven greenhouse-gas increase; attribution compares expected physical patterns and multiple measurements, rather than one hot day. A cold local event does not overturn a global trend. Distinguish a measured pattern from the causal explanation tested against it.
Example 1
The reference average is 14.0∘C and an anomaly is+0.8∘C. Find the corresponding average temperature.
Temperature = baseline + anomaly =14.0+0.8=14.8∘C.
Example 2
Anomaly falls from +1.0∘Cto+0.8∘C in one year. Is the second year colder than the baseline?
No. It is 0.2∘C cooler than the previous year but still 0.8∘C above the baseline. Comparisons use different references.
Watch out: Local short-term weather varies. A global climate trend concerns longer-term averages over much larger areas.