Weather is the state of the
atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the
troposphere, just below the
stratosphere. Weather refers to day-to-day temperature and
precipitation activity, whereas
climate is the term for the statistics of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is generally understood to mean the weather of
Earth.