How do you determine if any real-world situation is either independent variable or dependent variable?

In determining if any real-world situation is either an independent variable or dependent variable depends on factors that might have been taken into consideration as to the situation per se and the situation before it happened and the situation to take place. As an anonymous person quoted, "all things are connected", this gives us a universal idea that a situation in the real-world can be both an independent and dependent variable, depending on how it is looked upon and/or how it is treated. A landslide, for example, might be an independent variable since there was no direct factor that caused it, it just happened. On the other hand, it becomes a dependent variable if it happened while it was raining or amidst a storm or it happened right after.