What is the difference between atmospheric science and applied meteorology?

Atmospheric science and applied meteorology are both research fields related to atmospheric environment, but their research purposes and methods are different.

Atmospheric science is a science that explores the basic principles, laws of motion, composition, physics and chemistry of the atmospheric environment itself.

It includes atmospheric physics, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric radiation, atmospheric electricity and other disciplines, covering the study of atmospheric physics, chemistry and dynamics. The main purpose is to understand the basic laws of motion and physics in the atmospheric system, so as to improve the understanding of natural disasters and climate change.

Applied meteorology pays more attention to the practical application of atmospheric environment.

It mainly involves the application of meteorology in social production, life, military and other fields, such as meteorological forecast, disaster monitoring and prevention, agricultural meteorology, aviation meteorology, marine meteorology, urban meteorology and other fields. Applied meteorology needs to integrate the knowledge of atmospheric science, mathematics, computer science and engineering technology, and combine a lot of experimental research and practical application to improve the prediction and risk assessment of meteorological events.

In order to better distinguish these two fields, we can further distinguish them through their research focus and development form. Atmospheric science focuses on the inherent physical laws of the atmospheric system itself, and its development goal is to conduct a more comprehensive, systematic and extreme study of the atmospheric environment, so as to better understand the changes and evolution of nature. Applied meteorology, on the other hand, applies the basic knowledge of atmospheric science to the actual situation to realize more accurate weather forecast, disaster prevention and decision-making. Its development goal is to improve the practical level and play a greater role in social and economic development and people's well-being.