The Definition of the Standard WMO Climate Normal The Key to Deriving Alternative Climate Normals

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defines the standard climate normal as a reasonable metric with respect to its primary utilizations. Climate scientists have urged for the development of alternative normal products that are better indicators of existing and future climate conditions. They state that the most straightforward approach for creating alternative climate normals is to change the generalized definition of the standard WMO climate normal. Every possible alternative climate normal that can be devised is the result of changing one or more of five fundamental attributes. These five attributes are described along with the formulation of a generalized equation for WMO-type climate normals and consideration of a few ways to change the standard WMO definition to devise alternative climate normals. Alternative normals products can be created by changing one or more of the five fundamental attributes.