Polycopiés de cours Bioclimatologie : Niveau 3ème année licence Spécialité Agronomie et Ecologie

Abstract

Climate is the result of atmospheric conditions (precipitation, temperature, wind, sunshine, etc.) at a given location over a defined period (month, year, decade, etc.). The term climate, from the Latin *clima*, meaning inclination, borrowed from the Greek, refers to the angle between the sun's rays and the Earth's surface. Climatology is the science of the atmosphere, aiming for a comprehensive description, classification, and explanation of the distribution of different climate types within a geographical context. Archived meteorological observations constitute the statistical data through which climatology studies the physical state of the atmosphere and its variations, while also identifying the causes of their evolution over time. Until the late 1950s, the objectives were primarily descriptive; after that date, they shifted mainly towards explaining weather and atmospheric phenomena, and, since the early 1980s, towards analyzing and forecasting climate change. Bioclimatology is defined as a branch of ecology that studies the relationships between living organisms and the physical characteristics of their environment. These characteristics are linked to energy phenomena of a climatic nature, such as radiative, thermal, and hydric factors.