Climate normal

A climate normal is a multi-decade average of climate variables for a location or region, used as a reference for describing typical conditions and assessing anomalies.

World Meteorological Organization: A United Nations specialized agency that coordinates international cooperation on weather, climate, and water. It sets international guidance for calculating and updating climate normals.
Climate classification: The grouping of places into climate types using recurring patterns in variables such as temperature and precipitation. Long-term averages help distinguish the climate characteristics used in many classification systems.
Climate average: A mean of climate observations over a stated period, which may be shorter or longer than a standard normal period. A normal is a climate average defined by a particular reference-period convention.
Global warming hiatus: A period in the early twenty-first century when the rise in global mean surface temperature temporarily slowed relative to earlier decades. Its interpretation varied with datasets, endpoints, and the reference periods used for comparison.
Thirty-year climate normal: A climate normal calculated from observations over a specified 30-year period. Thirty-year periods are the standard reference interval in WMO guidance.
Heating degree day: A measure of how much and how long outdoor temperatures fall below a chosen base temperature. Temperature normals provide a baseline for estimating typical heating demand.
Climate baseline: A reference period or value used to compare climate observations or projections. A baseline can serve many purposes; a climate normal is one standardized kind.
Paris Agreement: An international treaty adopted in 2015 to limit global warming and strengthen climate action. Its temperature goals use pre-industrial conditions as a reference, not a standard climate normal.
Climate data homogenization: The adjustment of climate records to reduce artificial shifts caused by changes in instruments, stations, or observing practices. Homogenized records help make long-period averages comparable.
Growing degree day: A measure of accumulated warmth used to estimate plant and insect development. Normal temperatures help compare seasonal heat accumulation with typical conditions.

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