Climatic changes
Long-term shifts in weather patterns, and the UNFCCC meaning of climate change
Scope: Climate change as the wider result of warming. The rise in temperature itself is covered in the note on global warming.
In one minute
Climate change is a long-term shift in temperature, rainfall and weather patterns. Global warming is its main driver, but climate change covers everything the warming sets off.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change gives it a legal meaning. Exams ask for the meaning, the effects and the difference from global warming.
Exam focus
- Frequency: No data
- Usually asked as: No data
Legal provision
- Article 1(2), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992: "climate change" means a change of climate attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere, in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable periods.
- Section 3(1), Environment (Protection) Act, 1986: the Central Government's power to take measures to protect the environment and control pollution.
Meaning and definition
Weather is the state of the air on a given day, such as rain or heat. Climate is the usual pattern of weather in a region over many years. Climate change is a long-term shift in that pattern.
The Convention separates climate change caused by human activity from natural variation. The shift caused by humans is the legal concern, because it can be reduced by law and policy.
- Climate change
- WeatherMore extreme heat, drought, floods and storms; shifting monsoon.
- Ice and seaGlaciers melt and sea level rises.
- Life and livelihoodSpecies lost, crop yields at risk, health harmed.
Detailed explanation
Step 1: weather and climate
One hot day is weather. Rising average temperatures and changing rain over decades are climate change. A single flood does not prove climate change, but a pattern of more frequent floods can.
Example. A cyclone hits the Odisha coast this year. That is weather. If cyclones become stronger and more frequent over thirty years, that is a change of climate.
Step 2: the link with global warming
Global warming raises temperature. The higher temperature then changes rain, wind and ice. Climate change is the wide set of results, not the temperature rise alone.
Step 3: main effects
- Weather: more heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms, and a shifting monsoon.
- Ice and sea: melting glaciers and rising seas that threaten coastal land.
- Nature: species that cannot adapt may be lost.
- Farming and food: changed rainfall and heat can cut crop yields.
- Health: heat illness and spread of diseases carried by insects.
Example. Glaciers in the Himalayas feed rivers such as the Ganga. If they shrink, the flow in those rivers changes, and the farmers who depend on them are affected.
Step 4: why law treats it separately
Climate change harms people who did little to cause it and crosses every border. That is why the law deals with it through treaties and why ideas such as climate justice and common but differentiated responsibilities have developed. They are covered in the notes on those topics.
Don't confuse: climate change and global warming
| Point | Global warming | Climate change |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One trend: rising average temperature | The wider shift in temperature, rain, wind, ice and sea |
| Relationship | The main cause | The result |
Inside the concept. Over decades, rain in one region falls and floods grow more frequent in another. That is a change of climate.
Just outside it. A rise of two degrees in the yearly average temperature, taken alone, is global warming.
Common mistakes
- Calling one storm or heatwave climate change. Climate is a long-term pattern.
- Using the two terms as the same. Warming is a cause, and climate change is the wider result.
- Forgetting that the Convention counts only human-caused change as climate change in its sense.
Leading case laws
No case in the syllabus list turns only on this meaning. The courts' treatment of climate harm under Articles 21 and 14 is covered in the note on climate justice.
How to write this answer in the exam
5-mark answer
- Meaning of climate change.
- Weather versus climate.
- Main effects.
- Difference from global warming.
10-mark answer
- Article 1(2) of the UNFCCC meaning.
- Weather versus climate.
- Link with global warming.
- Effects on weather, ice, sea, nature, farming, health.
- Why a legal response needs treaties.
- Pointers to climate justice and CBDR.
Key points to remember
- Climate change: long-term shift in weather patterns.
- UNFCCC, Article 1(2): change attributed to human activity, beyond natural variability.
- Global warming is the main driver; climate change is the wider result.
- Effects: extreme weather, melting ice, rising seas, species loss, food and health risks.
Quick self-test
1. What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the state of the air on a given day. Climate is the usual pattern over many years.
2. In which provision does the UNFCCC define climate change?
Article 1(2).
3. Is climate change the same as global warming?
No. Global warming is the temperature rise. Climate change is the wider shift it causes.