What is the difference between a climate forecast and a weather forecast?
The main difference between a climate forecast and weather forecast is the time scale. Weather forecasts are made on a daily basis or more frequently. Climate forecasts are longer-term. For example, a weather forecast might address tomorrow’s precipitation while a seasonal climate forecast might project that the next three months will be wetter than normal. In practice, climate forecasts often apply to broader geographic areas, too. For example, a weather forecast might apply to a city while a seasonal climate forecast might apply to a region of a continent. This difference is very important for linking climate-health impacts to the use of seasonal climate forecasts. For example, although the El Nio phenomenon causes heavy rainfall in northern coastal Peru, the detailed pattern of rainfall can be different in different El Nio events. Changes in the detailed patterns alter the breeding of the mosquitoes that transmit malaria. Conditions are best for breeding mosquitoes as the rains come
