Weather is always changing. Climate is the synthesis (combination of all the elements) of weather at a particular place. Some climates have marked changes of weather type during the year. For example, a monsoonal place has warm,cloudy, wet weather in summer and cooler, sunnier, dry weather in winter. In the British Isles, our climate has very changeable weather at all times of year.

Climates vary from place to place and the countries around the world do not fit into neat categories of climate and weather. Many things influence a place's climate such as distance from the equator and the local topography (natural features). Mountain ranges can increase or decrease rainfall. Coastal areas often have a different climate to those inland. We can identify the following main types of climate:

• Tropical
• Dry
• Warm temperate
• Cold temperate
• Cold

Climates also vary over time and change very gradually over decades and centuries. Human activity may be influencing this.