Temperature is a term from physics which also is of great importance in meteorology. It refers to the warmth of an object. If one brings together two bodies, fluid or gases, which have different temperatures, together, they will adapt within a short period of time. The final temperature is always somewhere between the two temperatures.

The measuring unit for temperature is the Kelvin, however Celsius is the specification that was approved for Germany and is generally used there. Within the Anglo-Saxon world the Fahrenheit temperature scale is still widely used.

Temperature also plays an important role in meteorology, starting with the probable temperature during the day and at night, which are part of every weather report. Usually a temperature range is specified as the temperatures can fluctuate within a larger area. Generally there is a prediction for more than one day, added to which is the precise temperature measured in a specific area. Today temperatures can be accessed for every city and area in the world.

A lot of other specifications also have to do with the temperature. One of the most decisive elements of the weather report is 0° C, at which water freezes and becomes ice. This is a really important specification for traffic, as it can become dangerous in combination with moisture. The temperature is also involved in determining what precipitation will turn into, whereby it can be the ground temperature or the temperature in various atmospheric layers.

It also depends on the temperature how much moisture can be taken up by the air, which determines whether there will be dew or frost. Likewise the temperature also depends on other weather conditions. A cloudless sky will lead to more insolation and thus to a higher temperature on the ground. Clouds prevent this kind of insolation so that it does not get quite as warm, on the other hand the clouds also prevent the warmth from radiating off the earth which is why it does not get as cold at night when there are clouds.

Various kinds of thermometers are used to measure the temperature. However, in some cases, meteorology has started deriving the temperature from other determinants, if it cannot be measured, which means that nowadays the temperature images of large surface areas can obtained from weather satellites. Even though the measurement cannot be done directly, the data determined from these satellites is relatively precise. They can then be verified with concrete measures done with weather balloons.