Confused climate classification

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World Köppen Classification (with authors) — The worldwide Koppen climate classifications. The map is ap of world dividing climate zones, largely influenced by latitude. The zones, going from the equator upward (and downward) are Tropical, Dry, Moderate, Continental and Polar. There are subzones within these zones. Author: Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., and McMahon, T. A., at the University of Melbourne.

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Climate[]

Climate is the statistics of weather over long periods of time. It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorologicalvariables in a given region over long periods of time. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these variables in a given region.

A region's climate is generated by the climate system, which has five components: atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.

The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents. The difference between climate and weather is usefully summarized by the popular phrase "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get."Over historicaltime spans there are a number of nearly constant variables that determine climate, including latitude, altitude, proportion of land to water, and proximity to oceans and mountains. These change only over periods of millions of years due to processes such as plate tectonics. Other climate determinants are more dynamic: the thermohaline circulation of the ocean leads to a 5 °C (9 °F) warming of the northern Atlantic Ocean compared to other ocean basins. Other ocean currentsredistribute heat between land and water on a more regional scale. The density and type of vegetation coverage affects solar heat absorption, water retention, and rainfall on a regional level. Alterations in the quantity of atmospheric greenhouse gases determines the amount of solar energy retained by the planet, leading to global warming or global cooling. The variables which determine climate are numerous and the interactions complex, but there is general agreement that the broad outlines are understood, at least insofar as the determinants of historical climate change are concerned.

What is climate classification[]

Climate classification systems are ways of classifying the world's climates. A climate classification may correlate closely with a biome category, as climate is a major influence on biological life in a region. The most popular classification scheme is probably the Köppen climate classification scheme. There are several ways to classify climates into similar regimes. Originally, climes were defined in Ancient Greece to describe the weather depending upon a location's latitude. Modern climate classification methods can be broadly divided into genetic methods, which focus on the causes of climate, and empiric methods, which focus on the effects of climate. Examples of genetic classification include methods based on the relative frequency of different air mass types or locations within synoptic weather disturbances. Examples of empiric classifications include climate zones defined by plant hardiness, evapotranspiration, or more generally the Köppen climate classification which was originally designed to identify the climates associated with certain biomes. A common shortcoming of these classification schemes is that they produce distinct boundaries between the zones they define, rather than the gradual transition of climate properties more common in nature.

Climate classification systems include:

Köppen climate classification[]

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by the climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846-1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, the climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1954, 1961) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system.

The Köppen climate classification divides climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the E group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, Af indicates a tropical rainforest climate. The system assigns a temperature subgroup for all groups other than those in the A group, indicated by the third letter for climates in B, C, and D, and the second letter for climates in E. For example, Cfb indicates an oceanic climate with warm summers as indicated by the ending b. Climates are classified based on specific criteria unique to each climate type.

Köppen designed the system based on his experience as a botanist, so the main climate groups are based on the different variety of vegetation that grows in climates belonging to each group. In addition to identifying climates, the system can be used to analyze ecosystem conditions and identify the main types of vegetation within climates. Due to its link with the plant life of a region, the system is useful in predicting future changes in plant life within a region.

The Köppen climate classification system has been further modified, within the Trewartha climate classification system in the middle 1960s (revised in 1980). The Trewartha system sought to create a more refined middle latitude climate zone, which was one of the criticisms of the Köppen system (the C climate group was too broad).

Basic Köppen\Köppen–Geiger climate classification system types[]

Thier are 3 major climate groups show thier dominance of the world's climate via thire relationship with the special combinations of air-mass source regions.

Tropical Moist Climates (Af) rainforest[]

Average temperature: 18 °C (°F)
Annual Precipitation: 262 cm. (103 in.)
Latitude Range: 10° S to 25 ° N
Global Position: Amazon Basin; Congo Basin of equatorial Africa; East Indies, from Sumatra to New Guinea.

Wet-Dry Tropical Climates (Aw) savanna[]

Temperature Range: 16 °C
Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm. (0.1 in.). All months less than 0.25 cm. (0.1 in.)
Latitude Range: 15 ° to 25 ° N and S
Global Range: India, Indochina, West Africa, southern Africa, South America and the north coast of Australia

Dry Tropical Climate (BW) desert biome[]

Temperature Range: 16° C
Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm (0.1 in). All months less than 0.25 cm (0.1 in).
Latitude Range: 15° - 25° N and S.
Global Range: southwestern United States and northern Mexico; Argentina; north Africa; south Africa; central part of Australia.

Dry Mid-latitude Climates (BS) steppe[]

Temperature Range: 24° C (43° F).
Annual Precipitation: less than 10 cm (4 in) in the driest regions to 50 cm (20 in) in the moister steppes.
Latitude Range: 35° - 55° N.
Global Range: Western North America (Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, Great Plains); Eurasian interior, from steppes of eastern Europe to the Gobi Desert and North China.

Mediterranean Climate (Cs) chaparral biome[]

Temperature Range: 7 °C (12 °F)
Annual Precipitation: 42 cm (17 in).
Latitude Range: 30° - 50° N and S
Global Position: central and southern California; coastal zones bordering the Mediterranean Sea; coastal Western Australia and South Australia; Chilean coast; Cape Town region of South Africa.

Dry Mid-latitude Climates (Bs) grasslands biome[]

Temperature Range: 31 °C (56°F).
Annual Precipitation: 81 cm. (32 in.).
Latitude Range: 30° - 55° N and S
Global Position: western North America (Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, Great Plains); Eurasian interior.

Moist Continental Climate (Cf) Deciduous Forest biome[]

Temperature Range: 31 °C (56 ° F)
Average Annual Precipitation: 81 cm (32 in).
Latitude Range: 30° - 55° N and S (Europe: 45° - 60° N).
Global Position: eastern parts of the United States and southern Canada; northern China; Korea; Japan; central and eastern Europe.

Boreal forest Climate ( Dfc) taiga biome[]

Temperature Range: 41 °C (74 °F), lows; -25 °C (-14 °F), highs; 16 °C (60 °F).
Average Annual Precipitation: 31 cm (12 in).
Latitude Range: 50° - 70° N and S.
Global Position: central and western Alaska; Canada, from the Yukon Territory to Labrador; Eurasia, from northern Europe across all of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.

Tundra Climate (E) tundra biome[]

Temperature Range: -22 °C to 6 °C (-10 °F to 41 °F).
Average Annual Precipitation: 20 cm (8 in).
Latitude Range: 60° - 75° N.
Global Position: arctic zone of North America; Hudson Bay region; Greenland coast; northern Siberia bordering the Arctic Ocean.

Highland Climate (H) Alpine Biome[]

Temperature Range: -18 °C to 10 °C (-2 °F to 50°F)
Average Annual Precipitation: 23 cm (9 in.)
Latitude Range: found all over the world
Global Position: Rocky Mountain Range in North America, the Andean mountain range in South America, the Alps in Europe, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, the Himalayas in Tibet, Mt. Fuji in Japan.

Polar ice cap[]

The polar and Greenland icecaps and ice shelves typify this zone.

Trewartha climate classification[]

The Trewartha climate classification is a climate classification system published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966, and updated in 1980. It is a modified version of the 1899 Köppen system, created to answer some of the deficiencies of the Köppen system. The Trewartha system attempts to redefine the middle latitudes to be closer to vegetation zoning and genetic climate systems. It was considered a more true or "real world" reflection of the global climate.

The changes were seen as most effective on the large landmasses in Asia and North America, where many areas fall into a single group (C) in the Köppen system. For example, under the standard Köppen system, Washington and Oregon are classed into the same climate zone as Southern California, even though the two regions have strikingly different weather and vegetation. Another example was classifying cities like London in the same climate group as Brisbane or New Orleans, despite great differences in seasonal temperatures and native plant life.

UK 2000s atas pastiche version[]

The 2008 DK Student Atlas 5th Edition (ISBN 978-1-4053-2906-4) used Ice cap, sub-arctic, tundra, continental, temperate, Warm temperate, mediterranean, semi-arid, arid, hot humid, hot equatorial and tropical.

Other 1990s\2000s UK variants[]

High mountain (the summits of Mt. Everest and Mt. K2).
Alpine (Davos and Liechtenstein).
Boral forest\Nordic\Scandinavian (northern Scotland, Newfoundland, central Manitoba, Åland, Saint Petersburg, extreme southern Finland and southern Sweden).
Hemiboral forist (All of southeastern Canada except for parts of southern Ontario, as well as the central Prairie Provinces outside the grasslands; most parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, along with eastern North Dakota; the Southern Siberian rainforest, southernmost Norway, Kaliningrad Oblast, Southern Sweden except the most the southern municipalities. Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Estonia, coastal zone and archipelago of Turku in Finland and region of Åland).
Taiga forest\northern pine forest\Siberian pine forest (Northern Ontario, Northern Yukon, Pskov Oblast, central Finland, Rana kommune in Norway, Arkhangelsk Oblast and Kemerovo Oblast).
Semi-arid, thorn bushes like Koeberlinia spinosa (The Colorado Desert, Sonoran Desert in Sonora, southern Cochise County in Arizona, northern regions of the Mexican Plateau, the northern foothills of the Sierra Madre Orientals and some semi-arid or arid patches of Baja California).
Semi-arid\arid spiny forest thickets like Didiereaceae (The Berenty Private Reserve, southern Madagascar).
Semi-arid, cactuses (Saguaro National Park, Arizona)
Semi-arid, grasses like millet (Gujarat, Botswana, southern Mali, northern Nigeria and southern Niger)
Semi-arid, other xerophytes like the joshua tree (Joshua Tree National Park, Colorado Desert and Anza Borrego Desert State Park).
Tropical Pacific islands (Wake Atoll, Tarawa Atoll, Narau and Palmyra Atoll).
Hyper-maritime\hyper-marine (Ireland, Cornwall, the Outer Hebrides, the Shetlands, The Orkneys and the Faroe Islands).
Maritime humid continental\marine humid continental\Baltic (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, southern Sweden, extreme southern Finland, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Lake Ladoga, Åland, northern Poland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Extreme southern Norway, north eastern Belarus, Eastern Denmark and northern Denmark).
Western European marine\Western European maritime (Nottingham, Glasgow, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bonn, Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Bordeaux).