Weather changes from one hour to the next and from one day to the next. Climate comprises the average weather conditions that occur in a place over a period of years. Other climate factors include wind, humidity, fog, and cloud cover.
Lightning is an important aspect of climate in some areas because it starts fires.
Latitude, elevation, topography, vegetation, distance from the ocean, and location on a continent or other land mass influence temperature, precipitation, and other aspects of climate. Unlike weather, which changes rapidly, climate changes slowly-over hundreds or thousands of years. Earth has many different climates, and because each is relatively constant for many years, organisms have adapted to them. A German botanist and climatologist, Wladimir K ppen, developed the most widely used system for classifying climates in the early part of the 20th century. He based his scheme on the observation that various types of vegetation are associated with different climates, particularly temperature and precipitation.