In geology and climatology, a pluvial is either a modern climate characterized by relatively high precipitation or an interval of time of variable length, decades to thousands of years, during which a climate is characterized by relatively high precipitation or humidity.
Subdivisions of a pluvial, which are characterized by relatively high precipitation, are known as a subpluvials.
No lower latitudes have experienced major pluvials in early to mid-Holocene times.
In geomorphology, a pluvial refers to a geologic episode, change, process, deposit, or feature that is the result of the action or effects of rain.
Sometimes, it also refers to the fluvial action of rainwater flowing in a stream channel, including a flood, known as a pluvial flood, that is the direct result of excessive precipitation.