Weather is an all-encompassing term used to describe all of the many and varied phenomena that can occur in the atmosphere of a planet. The term is normally taken to mean the activity of these phenomena over short periods of time, usually no more than a few days in length. Average atmospheric conditions over significantly longer periods are known as climate. Usage of the two terms often overlaps and the concepts are obviously very closely related.

Basic mechanism

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Weather phenomena result from temperature differences around the globe, which arise mainly because areas closer to the tropics, around the equator, receive more energy from the Sun than more northern and southern regions, nearer to the Earth's poles.

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BBC News | Northern Ireland | UK Edition

NI fans beaten by 'security men'
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:19:53 -0000
Two Northern Ireland soccer fans are knocked unconscious by baton-wielding security men in Slovakia.
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DUP holds talks with UVF and UDA
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:45:24 -0000
Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson meets the leaderships of the loyalist paramilitary UVF and UDA.

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