Originally Posted by mashamania
The phrase "what is" is equivalent to "that which is" in this sentence. There's a small distinction between "The exact boundaries of what is climate" and "The exact boundaries of what climate is." It's not a mistake.
"What is" before a noun doesn't always imply a question, i.e. "He spoke of what is happiness." There's a minor distinction btwn "He spoke of what is happiness" and "He spoke of what happiness is." The former, happiness is the predicate and new information. The latter, the description of what constitutes happiness is the predicate or attribute.