Applied climatology has been the foundation upon which the world’s weather-sensitive activities and infrastructure have been developed. Applications of climate data and information have likely contributed more to the development of most nations than any other function of the atmospheric sciences. Today weather forecasts are very useful and important but these only became available in the twentieth century, more than 150 years after applied climatology had been in service to the nation.
What is applied climatology? The answer may seem obvious, but the definition of applied climatology is elusive for several reasons. Activities falling under the umbrella of applied climatology are spread among many disciplines. The activities also have interfaces with many parts of the atmospheric sciences, forming a myriad number of interactions. The field is truly interdisciplinary, embracing climatologists and those of other disciplines including hydrology, agriculture, engineering, and business. This...
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Changnon, S.A. (2005). Applied Climatology. In: Oliver, J.E. (eds) Encyclopedia of World Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3266-8_12
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