ABSTRACT
So far throughout this book we have emphasised climate as a physical system governed by a set of physical laws, varying on several time and space scales, and seen on the surface of the Earth as a series of climate regions. Some relations between climate and humans have been considered, but as an adjunct to the physical emphasis. In this chapter the emphasis is reversed and we explore (1) the impact of climate and its fluctuations on human lifestyles and activities, and (2) the impact of human lifestyles and activities on the climate. Some of our earlier considerations of the applications of climate information, of course, are a direct response to the first of these two links.
