GC: n
CT: The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) provides a clear and up-to-date view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change. It consists of three Working Group (WG) Reports and a Synthesis Report (SYR) which integrates and synthesizes material in the WG reports for policymakers. The SYR will be finalized on 31st October 2014. Further information about the outline and content and how the AR5 has been prepared can be found in the AR5 reference document and SYR Scoping document, AR5 page and on the websites of the working groups.
S: http://www.ipcc.ch/ (last access: 5 October 2014)
N: 1. – climate (n): late 14c., “horizontal zone of the earth,” Scottish, from Old French clima region, part of the earth, from Latin clima (genitive climatis) “region; slope of the Earth,” from Greek klima “region, zone,” literally “an inclination, slope,” thus “slope of the Earth from equator to pole,” from root of klinein “to slope, to lean”.
The angle of sun on the slope of the Earth’s surface defined the zones assigned by early geographers. Early references in English, however, are in astrology works, as each of the seven (then) climates was held to be under the influence of one of the planets. Shift from “region” to “weather associated with a region” perhaps began in Middle English, certainly by c. 1600.
– change (n): c. 1200, “act or fact of changing,” from Anglo-French chaunge, Old French change “exchange, recompense, reciprocation,” from changier.
Meaning “a different situation” is from 1680s. Meaning “something substituted for something else” is from 1590s. The financial sense of “balance returned when something is paid for” is first recorded 1620s; hence to make change (1865). Bell-ringing sense is from 1610s. Related: changes. Figurative phrase change of heart is from 1828.
– climate change: 1983, in the modern “global warming” sense.
2. Climatology: All forms of climatic inconstancy (for example, any differences between long-term statistics of the meteorological elements calculated for different periods but relating to the same area) regardless of their statistical nature or physical causes.
3. Climate changes may result from such factors as changes in solar emission, long-period changes in the Earth’s orbital elements (eccentricity, obliquity of the ecliptic, precession of the equinoxes), natural internal processes of the climate system, or anthropogenic forcing (for example, increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases).
4. The term “climate change” is often used in a more restricted sense, to denote a significant change (for example, a change having important economic, environmental and social effects) in the mean values of a meteorological element (in particular temperature or amount of precipitation) in the course of a certain period of time, where the means are taken over periods of the order of a decade or longer.
5. Effects of Pollution Climate Warming and Ozone Layer: A change in climate induced by human activities directly or indirectly causing significant environmental, economic or social effects, provided the human activities and these effects are not wholly located within the area under the national jurisdiction of one State.
6. Technical definitions may be too generic for convention purposes. A definition should distinguish between changes caused by natural and anthropogenic influences, between significant and insignificant changes, and between changes occurring totally within a country and those that extend beyond the borders of one country. Agreement must also be reached as to whether climate change caused by anthropogenic sources other than increasing greenhouse gases (e.g. aerosols, river diversions, etc.) should be included or excluded in a convention.
7. Not to be confused with the technical meaning of «climatic change» and «climatic modification» in climatology.
8. Refers most of the time to “global warming” (q.v.).
9. Climate change, periodic modification of Earth’s climate brought about as a result of changes in the atmosphere as well as interactions between the atmosphere and various other geological, chemical, biological and geographic factors within the Earth’s system.
The atmosphere is a dynamic fluid that is continually in motion. Both its physical properties and its rate and direction of motion are influenced by a variety of factors, including solar radiation, the geographic position of continents, ocean currents, the location and orientation of mountain ranges, atmospheric chemistry and vegetation growing on the land surface. All these factors change through time. Some factors, such as the distribution of heat within the oceans, atmospheric chemistry and surface vegetation, change in accordance with very short timescales. Others, such as the position of continents and the location and height of mountain ranges, change over very long timescales. Therefore, climate, which results from the physical properties and motion of the atmosphere, varies at every conceivable timescale.
10. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention Top 10 Climate Movies from the NASA and the novel Solar (2010) by Ian McEwan.
S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=climate+change; http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=change (last access 21 August 2016). 2 to 8. TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 5 October 2014). 9. EncBrit (last access: 5 October 2014). 10. http://climate.nasa.gov/climate_reel (last access: 5 October 2014); http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/books/30book.html?_r=0(external link) (last access: 24 June 2016).
SYN: climatic change, climatic modification. (context)
S: TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 5 October 2014)
CR: air pollution, biosphere, carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbon, [Conference of Parties], ecology, environment, erosion, global warming, greenhouse effect, Kyoto Protocol, light pollution, phenology, soil pollution, stratosphere, stratospheric ozone, tropospheric ozone, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
