Babble Buster: What is Climate Change?

It seems like a term we’d all know the meaning of – and no, just because there’s still snow in the world doesn’t mean that certain areas of the world are unaffected by climate change.

It’s not necessarily all about heat – and it’s not necessarily cause by humans. Hear me out.

Let’s define it together

According to the BBC, Climate Change is a pattern of change affecting global or regional climate, as measured by average temperature and rainfall, and how often extreme weather events like heatwaves or heavy rains happen. Usually measured over a long period of time.

First, there’s a big difference between weather and climate:

Weather describes what it’s like right now, outside in a specific place. For example, at the time of writing its sunny but cloudy and a bit chilly. Rain, snow, wind, hurricanes, tornadoes — these are all types of weather.

Climate isn’t just a few hot sunny days in a row. Climate is the weather that is expected in any given region at a specific time of year. So, for example, in the UK in winter, it’s very cold, mostly grey and overcast and can snow on occasion. In Australia, winter is commonly much milder, though still cold.

Climate change considers all changes to the environment – including rising sea levels, rainfall, heatwaves, and more. The variations in climate change may be caused by both natural processes and by humans.

It’s not to be confused by global warming – which is an informal term used to describe climate change caused by humans.

We can all take actions, big or small, to combat climate change. It doesn’t matter how small you start, all that matters is that you do. With your Home Club membership, you’re already off to a great start. Why not browse our range of planet-saving products for your home and see what swap you can make next!