Changes

By the 3rd millennium BCE, seasonality and its regularity was recorded. Early weather recording often related to astronomical observations, as seasonal changes and time keeping were seen as being related. Some of the earliest detailed records of meteorological data derive from ancient Mesopotamia from the 7th 8th century BCE. During that time, a detailed record spanning some six hundred years seems to have been collected that described weather phenomena, often focusing on difficult or bad weather. While the texts often focus on omens, particularly what might happen after a weather phenomenon such as storms, the compiling of the data suggests a type of forecasting was intended by the compilation. In effect, the records may have been an attempt to correlate weather events with other events, including political, economic and other important matters.<ref>For more on early Mesopotamian records, see: Taub, L.C. (2003) <i>Ancient meteorology. Sciences of antiquity</i>. London ; New York, Routledge, pg. 16-17.</ref>Early records from Mesopotamia also indicate how celestial objects often foreshadowed weather events. For instance, a halo around the moon portends rain and flooding. <ref>For more on weather events and celestial phenomena, see: Teague, K.A. & Gallicchio, N. (2017) <i>The evolution of meteorology: a look into the past, present, and future of weather forecasting </i>. Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, pg. 3-4.</ref> In China, records often seemed neutral as to the types of weather data kept. By the 13th century BCE, the Chinese were attempting to record amount of rainfall, types of precipitation (sleet vs. rain) and an indication of temperature. The Chinese, similar to Mesopotamia, also saw their weather as being related with the whim of the gods or their moral or immoral behavior. The concept of Yin and Yang was related to weather, where a balance between hot and cold and other opposites in weather were necessary for society to be balance. In effect, this is early evidence of how weather began to also shape philosophy and concepts of spiritual as well as physical balance in life.<ref>For more on Chinese weather beliefs, see: Teague, K.A. & Gallicchio, N. (2017), pg. 4</ref>.