Environment Planet Earth This Nice 1-Minute Video Explains the Difference Between Climate & Weather By Brian Merchant Writer UC Santa Barbara Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device, editor for OneZero, and is writing a book about Luddites. He lives in Los Angeles. our editorial process Twitter Twitter Brian Merchant Updated October 11, 2018 Screen capture. YouTube Share Twitter Pinterest Email Planet Earth Weather Outdoors Conservation YouTube/Screen capture Weather is not climate. Climate is not weather. Despite the insistance of some to the contrary (here's looking at you, Fox News), who claim, for instance, that a bout of cold, snowy weather is somehow in direct contradiction to global warming, climate describes the long term trends in temperature, rainfall, wind, etc. Weather is what's happening outside your window. Or, if that explanation seems too lengthy, there's always this (via Philip Bump): The climate is a dog-walker. The weather is his less predictable dog. It's about as simple and elegant as a way to describe trend and variation – a la climate and weather – as there is. Forward this vid to that special person in your life who snorts at any mention of climate change when it happens to be below 75 ̊ outside.