A Practical Introduction to Regression-based Causal Inference in Meteorology (I): All confounders measured

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Marzban, Caren, Zhang, Yikun, Bond, Nicholas, Richman, Michael
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Marzban, Caren
Zhang, Yikun
Bond, Nicholas
Richman, Michael
author_facet Marzban, Caren
Zhang, Yikun
Bond, Nicholas
Richman, Michael
contents Whether a variable is the cause of another, or simply associated with it, is often an important scientific question. Causal Inference is the name associated with the body of techniques for addressing that question in a statistical setting. Although assessing causality is relatively straightforward in the presence of temporal information, outside of that setting - the situation considered here - it is more difficult to assess causal effects. The development of the field of causal inference has involved concepts from a wide range of topics, thereby limiting its adoption across some fields, including meteorology. However, at its core, the requisite knowledge for causal inference involves little more than basic probability theory and regression, topics familiar to most meteorologists. By focusing on these core areas, this and a companion article provide a steppingstone for the meteorology community into the field of (non-temporal) causal inference. Although some theoretical foundations are presented, the main goal is the application of a specific method, called matching, to a problem in meteorology. The data for the application are in public domain, and R code is provided as well, forming an easy path for meteorology students and researchers to enter the field.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_18808
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Practical Introduction to Regression-based Causal Inference in Meteorology (I): All confounders measured
Marzban, Caren
Zhang, Yikun
Bond, Nicholas
Richman, Michael
Applications
Whether a variable is the cause of another, or simply associated with it, is often an important scientific question. Causal Inference is the name associated with the body of techniques for addressing that question in a statistical setting. Although assessing causality is relatively straightforward in the presence of temporal information, outside of that setting - the situation considered here - it is more difficult to assess causal effects. The development of the field of causal inference has involved concepts from a wide range of topics, thereby limiting its adoption across some fields, including meteorology. However, at its core, the requisite knowledge for causal inference involves little more than basic probability theory and regression, topics familiar to most meteorologists. By focusing on these core areas, this and a companion article provide a steppingstone for the meteorology community into the field of (non-temporal) causal inference. Although some theoretical foundations are presented, the main goal is the application of a specific method, called matching, to a problem in meteorology. The data for the application are in public domain, and R code is provided as well, forming an easy path for meteorology students and researchers to enter the field.
title A Practical Introduction to Regression-based Causal Inference in Meteorology (I): All confounders measured
topic Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.18808