CLIMATOLOGY

• Climatology, or sometimes known as climate science, is the study of the Earth's weather patterns
and the systems that cause them. From the ocean oscillations to trade winds, pressure systems that
drives temperature, airborne particles that influence local conditions and even the phases of the moon
and Earth's wobble all affect the climate

The word “climatology” comes, as may scientific words and terms do, from the Greek. clima means
“zone” or “area” and “logia” means “study”. This means that climatology is the “study of zones”
although in reality it is much more complicated than that.
WHAT DOES CLIMATOLOGY DEAL WITH?

Climatology deals with the following characteristics.

• Earth-sun relationship

• Distribution of solar radiation

• Terrestrial radiation and heat balance

• General circulation of the atmosphere

• Distribution of wind, temperature, and pressure over the surface of the earth.

APPLICATIONS OF CLIMATOLOGY

• Climatology is a fascinating area of study. It relates directly to which the environment functions and
the everyday lives of people in addition to the workings and nature of the atmosphere. Applied
Climatology is used to –

a) Improve efficiency of various economic activities that are influenced by climate

b) Aid in the needs of societal activities

c)Reduce the losses incurred from climatic hazards EXAMPLES: Energy, Food, water, Health etc..

PALEOCLIMATOLOGY

Definition

Paleoclimatology is the study of past climates. Since it is not possible to go back in time to see what
climates were like, scientists use imprints created during past climate, known as proxies, to interpret
paleoclimate.

Proxy data is data that paleoclimatologists gather from natural recorders of climate variability.

Example: tree rings, ice cores, fossil pollen, ocean sediments, coral and historical data.

• Paleoclimatology is the study of climates for which direct measurements were not taken.

• As instrumental records only span a tiny part of Earth history, the reconstruction of ancient climate
is important to understand natural variation and the evolution of the current climate.

• Paleoclimatology uses a variety of proxy Paleoclimatology uses a variety of proxy methods from the
Earth Paleoclimatology uses a variety of proxy methods from the Earth and life sciences

Paleoclimatology uses a variety of proxy methods from the Earth and life sciences to obtain data
previously preserved within rocks Paleoclimatology uses a variety of proxy methods from the Earth
and life sciences to obtain data previously preserved within rocks, sediments

Paleoclimatology uses a variety of proxy methods from the

• The scientific field of paleoclimatology came to maturity in the 20th century.

• Studies of past changes in the environment and biodiversity often reflect on the current situation,
specifically the impact of climate on mass extinctionsStudies of past changes in the environment and
biodiversity often reflect on the current situation, specifically the impact of climate on mass extinctions
and biotic recovery and current global warming.
• Paleoclimatologists employ a wide variety of techniques to deduce ancient climates.

• The techniques used depend on which variable has to be reconstructed (temperature The techniques
used depend on which variable has to be reconstructed

• For instance, the deep marine record, the source of most isotopic data, exists only on oceanic plates,
which are eventually subducted.

• NCEI [National Centre for Environmental information] provides the paleoclimatology data and
information scientists need to understand natural climate variability and future climate change. We
also operate the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, which archives and distributes data
contributed by scientists around the world

• The study of paleoclimates has been particularly helpful in showing that the Earth's climate system
can shift between dramatically different climate states in a matter of years or decades. The study of
past climate change also helps us understand how humans influence the Earth's climate system.

• The paleoclimatic record also allows us to examine the causes of past climate change and to help
unravel how much of the 20th century warming may be explained by natural causes, such as solar
variability, and how much may be explained by human influences.
CLIMATOLOGY PROXIES

• Climate proxies are preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct
meteorological measurements and enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions over a
longer fraction of the Earth's history.

• Reliable global records of climate only began in the 1880s, and proxies provide the only means for
scientists to determine climatic patterns before record-keeping began.

• A large number of climate proxies have been studied from a variety of geologic contexts.
• Proxies can be combined to produce temperature reconstructions longer than the instrumental
temperature recordProxies can be combined to produce temperature reconstructions longer than the
instrumental temperature record and can inform discussions of global warming and climate history.

• The geographic distribution of proxy records, just like the instrumental record, is not at all uniform,
with more records in the northern hemisphere

• India has tropical monsoon climate with large regional variations in terms of rainfall and
temperature.

• While classifying Indian climatic regions, most geographers have given more importance to rainfall
than to temperature as variations in rainfall are much more marked than those of temperature.

• Here we will see two classifications –

(i) Stamp’s Classification of Climatic Regions of India

(ii) Koeppen’s Classification of Climatic Regions of India

Stamp’s Classification of Climatic Regions of India

•Stamp used 18°C isotherm of mean monthly temperature for January to divide the country into two
broad climatic regions, viz., temperate or continental zone in the north and tropical zone in the south.

•This line runs roughly across the root of the peninsula, more or less along or parallel to the Tropic of
Cancer.

•The two major climatic regions are further divided into eleven regions depending upon the amount
of rainfall and temperature.

Koeppen’s Classification of Climatic Regions of India

•Koeppen’s Classification of Climatic Regions of India is an empirical

classification based on mean annual and mean monthly temperature and precipitation data.

•Koeppen identified a close relationship between the distribution of vegetation and climate.

•He selected certain values of temperature and precipitation and related them to the distribution of
vegetation and used these values for classifying the climates.

•Koeppen divided India into nine climatic regions making use of the above scheme

•Koeppen recognized five major climatic groups, four of them are based on temperature and one on
precipitation.

•The capital letters:

•A, C, D, and E delineate humid climates and

•B dry climates.

•The climatic groups are subdivided into types, designated by small letters, based on seasonality of
precipitation and temperature characteristics.

•The seasons of dryness are indicated by the small letters : f, m, w and s, where

•f – no dry season,
•m – monsoon climate,

•w – winter dry season and

•s – summer dry season.

The above mentioned major climatic types are further subdivided depending upon the seasonal
distribution of rainfall or degree of dryness or cold.

KOPPEN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

ROLE OF LAND AND OCEAN TO REGULATE CLIMATE

Role of land to regulate climate

According to IPCC, Intergovernmental panel on climate change Land provides the principal basis for
human livelihoods and well-being including the supply of food, freshwater and multiple other
ecosystem services, as well as biodiversity. Human use directly affects more than 70% (likely 69-76%)
of the global, ice-free land surface. Land also plays an important role in the climate system.

• The link between land use and the climate is complex.

• First, land cover--as shaped by land use practices--affects the global concentration of greenhouse
gases.

• Second, while land use change is an important driver of climate change, a changing climate can lead
to changes in land use and land cover.

• Land is both a source and a sink of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and plays a key role in the exchange of
energy, water, and aerosols between the land surface and atmosphere.

• Land ecosystems and biodiversity are vulnerable to ongoing climate change and weather and climate
extremes, to different extents.

• Sustainable land management can contribute to reducing the negative impacts of multiple stressors,
including climate change, on ecosystems and societies

• Since the pre-industrial period (1850-1900) the observed mean land surface air temperature has
risen considerably more than the global mean surface (land and ocean) temperature (GMST) (high
confidence).

• From 1850-1900 to 2006-2015 mean land surface air temperature has increased by 1.53°C (very likely
range from 1.38°C to 1.68°C) while GMST increased by 0.87°C (likely range from 0.75°C to 0.99°C).

• Climate change can exacerbate land degradation processes (high confidence) including through
increases in rainfall intensity, flooding, drought frequency and severity, heat stress, dry spells, wind,
sea-level rise and wave action, permafrost thaw with outcomes being modulated by land management

The ocean is an important component of the climate system.

ROLE OF OCEAN TO REGULATE CLIMATE

• It provides the surface temperature boundary condition for the atmosphere over 70% of the
globe.
• It absorbs over 97% of solar radiation incident on it from zenith angles less than 50°.
• It provides 85% of the water vapour in the atmosphere.
 • It exchanges, absorbs and emits a host of radiatively important gases.

It is a major natural source of atmospheric aerosols.

• Thus, even a static ocean would significantly influence the climate. However, the ocean is dynamic
and its surface properties will vary on all time scales, allowing great scope for feedbacks between the
ocean and atmosphere.

• Over the last two decades the importance of the ocean to understanding, and predicting the
evolution of, the climate system has become generally recognized.

• This development in scientific understanding of the role of the ocean in climate change can be seen
in the Third assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC)

ROLE OF ICE AND WIND TO REGULATE CLIMATE

ROLE OF ICE TO REGULATE CLIMATE

• Sea ice is frozen water that forms, expands, and melts in the ocean.

• It is different from icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves, which originate on land. For the
most part, sea ice expands during winter months and melts during summer months, but in certain
regions, some sea ice remains year-round.

• About 15 percent of the world's oceans are covered by sea ice during part of the year.

• While sea ice exists primarily in the polar regions, it influences the global climate

• The bright surface of sea ice reflects a lot of sunlight out into the atmosphere and, importantly, back
into space. Because this solar energy "bounces back" and is not absorbed into the ocean, temperatures
nearer the poles remain cool relative to the equator.

• Changes in the amount of sea ice can disrupt normal ocean circulation, thereby leading to changes
in global climate.

• Even a small increase in temperature can lead to greater warming over time, making the polar regions
the most sensitive areas to climate change on Earth.

ROLE OF WIND TO REGULATE CLIMATE

• Winds that blow from the sea often bring rain to the coast and dry weather to inland areas.

• Winds that blow to Britain from warm inland areas such as Africa will be warm and dry.

• Winds that blow to Britain from inland areas such as central Europe will be cold and dry in winter.
Britain's prevailing (i.e. most frequently experienced) winds come from a south westerly direction over
the Atlantic.

• These winds are cool in the summer, mild in the winter and tend to bring wet weather

• India lies in the region of north easterly winds.

• These winds originate from the subtropical high-pressure belt of the northern hemisphere.

• They blow south, get deflected to the right due to the Coriolis force, and move on towards the
equatorial low-pressure area.
• Generally, these winds carry very little moisture as they originate and blow over land. Therefore, they
bring little or no rain. Hence, India should have been an arid land, but, it is not so.

• The pressure and wind conditions over India are unique. These winds blow over the warm oceans,
gather moisture and bring widespread rainfall over the mainland of India.

MILANKOVITCH CYCLE

INTRODUCTION

•The Milankovitch or astronomical theory of climate change is an explanation for changes in the
seasons which result from changes in the earth's orbit around the sun. The theory is named for Serbian
astronomer Milutin Milankovitch

Natural causes of Milankovitch Cycle

•Eccentricity

•Obliquity

•Precession

• Earth experienced it's most recent ice ages during the Pleistocene epoch, which lasted from 2.6
million years ago to 11,700 years ago. For thousands of years at a time, even the more temperate
regions of the globe were covered with glaciers and ice sheets, according to the University of California
Museum of Paleontology.

• To determine how Earth could experience such vast changes in climate over time, Milankovitch
incorporated data about the variations of Earth's position with the timeline of the ice ages during the
Pleistocene. He studied Earth's variations for the last 600,000 years and calculated the varying
amounts of solar radiation due to Earth's changing orbital parameters. In doing so, he was able to link
lower amounts of solar radiation in the high northern latitudes to previous European ice ages,
according to AMNH.

• Milankovitch's calculations and charts, which were published in the 1920s and are still used today to
understand past and future climate, led him to conclude that there are three different positional cycles,
each with its own cycle length, that influence the climate on Earth: the eccentricity of Earth's orbit,
the planet's axial tilt and the wobble of its axis.

ECCENTRICITY

Eccentricity is a term used to describe the shape of Earth's orbit around the sun. The variation of
Earth's orbit around the sun ranges from an almost exact circle (eccentricity = 0.0005) to a slightly
elongated shape (eccentricity = 0.0607). The impact of the variation is a change in the amount of solar
energy from perihelion (around January 3) to aphelion (around July 4). The Earth's orbit around the
Sun, like other planet's orbits, is not a perfect circle. It is an ellipse. This means that the Earth is closer
to and further away from the Sun at different times in the year.

•Perihelion - when the Earth is closest to the Sun (usually happens in

January)

•Aphelion - when the Earth is furthest from the Sun (usually happens in June)
OBLIQUITY

•Obliquity is the variation of the tilt of the earth's axis away from the orbital plane.

•The tilt varies between 22.1 o and 24.5 o and the average is 23.5 o

•The obliquity changes on a cycle taking approximately 40,000 years

•Currently, the axis of rotation for the earth is tilted at 23.5°

However, this value changes from a minimum of 22.5° to a maximum of 24.5° and takes 41,000 years
to complete one cycle

The more tilt means more severe seasons warmer summers and colder winters; less tilt means less
severe seasons - cooler summers and milder winters

PRECESSION

• Precession is the change in orientation of the Earth's rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about
19,000 - 23,000 years.

• Earth wobbles just slightly as it spins on its axis, similarly to when a spinning top begins to slow down.
This wobble, known as precession, is primarily caused by the gravity of the sun and moon pulling on
Earth's equatorial bulges. The wobble doesn't change the tilt of Earth's axis, but the orientation
changes. Over about 26,000 years, Earth wobbles around in a complete circle, according to Washington
State University.

• Now, and for the past several thousands of years, Earth's axis has been pointed north more or less
toward Polaris, also known as the North Star. But Earth's gradual precessional wobble means that
Polaris isn't always the North Star. About 5,000 years ago the Earth was pointed more toward another
star, called Thubin. And, in approximately 12,000 years, the axis will have traveled a bit more around
its precession circle and will point toward Vega, which will become the next North Star

• As the Earth completes a precession cycle, the orientation of the planet is altered with respect to
perihelion and aphelion. If a hemisphere is pointed toward the sun during perihelion (shortest distance
between Earth and sun), it will be pointed away during aphelion (largest distance between Earth and
sun), and the opposite is true for the other hemisphere. The hemisphere that's pointed toward the
sun during perihelion and away during aphelion experiences more extreme seasonal contrasts than
the other hemisphere.

• Currently, the southern hemisphere's summer occurs near perihelion and winter near aphelion,
which means the southern hemisphere experiences more extreme seasons than the northern
hemisphere.

TEMPERATURE CHANGES
GLOBAL TEMPERATURE CHANGE: HIGHLIGHTS

• The relentless global heat continued as average surface temperature on Earth in July 2020 was the
second warmest on record

• In 2019, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.95°C above the
twentieth-century average of 13.9°C, making it the second-warmest year on record.

• The global annual temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.07°C per decade since 1880 and
over twice that rate (+0.18°C) since 1981.

• The five warmest years in the 1880–2019 record have all occurred since 2015, while nine of the 10
warmest years have occurred since 2005.

• From 1900 to 1980 a new temperature record was set on average every 13.5 years. Since 1981, it
has increased to every 3 years.

Conditions in 2019

According to the 2019 Global Climate Report from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information, 2019 began with a weak-to-moderate El Niño
event in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Temperatures were warmer than average across most global land
and ocean areas during most of the year.

• Ocean Warming

• Thermal expansion
• Coastal erosion

• Arctic erosion Effects of global warming

• Warmer bottom water

• Coral die off

• Ice loss

• Melting glaciers and permafrost

• Melting ice sheets

• Climate change

• Extreme temperatures

• Drought

• Wind events like cyclones, tornados etc.

• Severe rainfall

• Sea level rise

• Due to thermal expansion, ice loss, melting of glaciers etc.

ICE MELTING : GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Sources of melting ice

• Greenland ice sheets: 286 gt/y

• Antarctic ice sheets: 127 gt/y

• Glaciers (excluding Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets): 335 gt/y

ALBEDO

• A measure of how much of the Sun's energy is reflected off an object back out to space compared to
how much is trapped in Earth's atmosphere.

• Snow, ice and clouds have a relatively high Albedo so generally reflect more of the Sun's energy back
to space which has a cooling effect on the Earth.

• Cirrus clouds have a lower Albedo transmitting more radiation through to Earth's surface and
trapping Earth’s reflected radiation. This increases the temperature on Earth.

• Changes in the polar regions can cause more warming in the entire planet earth system through
feedback effects. One such effect is the reduction of ice and snow due to warmer temperatures.

• When the snow and ice disappears, less sun rays are reflected out and instead the heat is absorbed
by land and sea - which causes further increase in the warming.

• Change to the Earth's Albedo is a powerful driver of climate.

MEASURING ALBEDO

Albedo is measured in scale from 0.0-1.0

• 1.0 being the most reflective.

• For example an Albedo of 1.0 would be reflecting back 100% of light.

• Albedo of fresh snow is about 0.9

• 0.0 being the most absorbing surface.

• For example and Albedo of 0.0 would be absorbing 100% of light.

Terrestrial effects

Trees: Because trees tend to have a low Albedo, removing forests would tend to increase Albedo and
thereby could produce localized climate cooling. In seasonally snow-covered zones, winter Albedo of
treeless areas are 10% to 50% higher than nearby forested areas because snow does not cover the
trees as readily . Snow: Snow Albedo can be as high as 0.9; this, however, is for the ideal example: fresh
deep snow over a featureless landscape. If a snow covered area warms, snow tends to melt, lowering
the Albedo, and leading to more snowmelt.

Water: Water reflects light very differently from typical terrestrial materials. At the scale of the
wavelength of light even wavy water is always smooth so the light is reflected in a locally specular
manner. Although the reflectivity of water is very low at low and medium angles of incident light, it
increases tremendously at high angles of incident light such as occur on the illuminated side of the
Earth near the terminator. However, waviness causes an appreciable reduction. Since the light
specularly reflected from water does not usually reach the viewer, water is usually considered to have
a very low Albedo in spite of its high reflectivity at high angles of incident light.

Clouds: Cloud Albedo is an important factor in the global warming effect. Different types of clouds
exhibit different reflectivity. Albedo and climate in some areas are affected by artificial clouds, such as
those created by the contrails of heavy commercial airliner.

IMPACTS

• Much of the sunlight reflects back when it reaches the earth surface, if it’s not reflected then its
absorbed, and that’s why the temperature increases

• This melts the ice and increases the global temperature to a few degrees, when ice melts, it can
cause flooding in some areas.

• Exposed water or exposed land is darker in colour and it absorbs more energy from the sun. When
the ice melts, more land is exposed, this absorbs more heat, melting more ice.

• The snow and ice play a important role. Without them the sunlight will not reflect back and
temperature will rise causing global warming due to an imbalance of light being reflected and
absorbed.

IRREVERSIBLE CHANGES

• Human influence on the climate system is confirmed.

• Recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on the ecosystems.

Observations

• Atmosphere and ocean have warmed

• Snow and ice amounts have reduced

• Sea level has risen

• Ocean pH has decreased by 0.1

RISK AND IMPACTS

• Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all
components of the climate system.

• It will increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.

• All emission scenarios project increase in surface temperature causing more and longer lasting heat
waves

• Extreme precipitation events will become more intense and frequent in many regions

• The ocean will continue to warm and acidify

• Global mean sea level to rise.

SEA LEVEL RISE AND ITS IMPACT

• Sea-level rise due to global warming occurs primarily because water expands as it warms up.

• The melting ice caps and mountain glaciers also add water to the oceans, thus rising the sea level.

• The contribution from large ice masses in Greenland and Antarctica is expected to be small over the
coming decades. But it may become larger in future centuries.

• Sea-level rise can be offset up by irrigation, the storage of water in reservoirs, and other land
management practices that reduce run-off of water into the oceans.

• Changes in land-levels due to coastal subsidence or geological movements can also affect local sea-
levels.

SEALEVEL RISE: HIGHLIGHTS

• Sea level has risen 8–9 inches (21–24 centimetres) since 1880.

• In 2019, global sea level was 3.4 inches (87.61 mm) above the 1993 average—the highest annual
average in the satellite record (1993-present). This is an increase of 0.24 inches (6.1 mm) from 2018.

• The rate of sea level rise is accelerating: it has more than doubled from 0.06 inches (1.4 millimetres)
per year throughout most of the twentieth century to 0.14 inches (3.6 millimetres) per year from
2006–2015.

• In many locations along the U.S. coastline, high-tide flooding is now 300% to more than 900% more
frequent than it was 50 years ago.
• Even if the world follows a low greenhouse gas pathway, global sea level will likely rise at least 12
inches (0.3 meters) above 2000 levels by 2100.

•If we follow a pathway with high emissions, a worst-case scenario of as much as 8.2 feet (2.5 meters)
above 2000 levels by 2100 cannot be ruled out.