Climatology higher latitudes. Models can range from relatively simple to quite complex: In contrast to meteorology, which focuses on short term weather systems lasting up to a few weeks, climatology studies the frequency and trends of those systems. It studies the periodicity of weather events over years to millennia, as well as changes in long-term average weather patterns, in relation to atmospheric conditions. study both the nature of climates – local, regional or global – and the natural or human-induced factors that cause climates to change. Climatology considers the past and can help predict future climate change. Phenomena of climatological interest
Long-term effects of global warming Long-term effects of global warming There are expected to be various long-term effects of global warming. Most discussion and research, including that by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, concentrates on the effects of global warming up to 2100, with only an outline of the effects beyond this. Meltwater from melting ice sheets and glacier retreat contributes to a rise in the future sea level. Concern has been expressed about the stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS). In 2002 Vaughan & Spouge argued that the "WAIS most likely will not collapse in the next few centuries."