Climate variability and change

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/climate-variability-and-change

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is climate variability?Climate variability is when the weather changes over months or a few years, like El Niño or seasonal differences. It is different from a single storm.
2. Why do we call the long‑term warming "climate change"?Climate change means the climate keeps shifting for decades or more, and today it mainly means the planet is getting warmer because of human activities.

Climate Variability: Fluctuations in climate patterns occurring over shorter timescales, typically months to a few years.
Climate Change: Long-term shifts in average weather patterns, often referring to the current warming trend driven by human activities.
Energy Budget: The balance between incoming solar energy absorbed by Earth and outgoing thermal energy radiated to space.
Internal Variability: Natural climate fluctuations arising from the complex interactions within the Earth's climate system components.