Module 4:
Types of Climates and Corresponding Characteristics
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Climate Classification
The Köppen Climate Classification System is the most widely used system for classifying the world's
climates. Its categories are based on the annual and monthly averages of temperature and precipitation.
The Köppen system recognizes five major climatic types; each type is designated by a capital letter.
A - Tropical Moist Climates: all months have average temperatures above 18° Celsius.
B - Dry Climates: with deficient precipitation during most of the year.
C - Moist Mid-latitude Climates with Mild Winters.
D - Moist Mid-Latitude Climates with Cold Winters.
E - Polar Climates: with extremely cold winters and summers.
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Tropical Moist Climates (A)
Tropical moist climates extend northward and southward from the
equator to about 15 to 25° of latitude. In these climates all months have
average temperatures greater than 18° Celsius. Annual precipitation is
greater than 1500 mm. Three minor Köppen climate types exist in the A
group, and their designation is based on seasonal distribution of rainfall.
• Af or tropical wet is a tropical climate where precipitation occurs all
year long. Monthly temperature variations in this climate are less than
3° Celsius. Because of intense surface heating and high humidity,
cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds form early in the afternoons
almost every day. Daily highs are about 32° Celsius, while night time
temperatures average 22° Celsius.
• Am is a tropical monsoon climate. Annual rainfall is equal to or greater
than Af, but most of the precipitation falls in the 7 to 9 hottest
months. During the dry season very little rainfall occurs.
• The tropical wet and dry or savanna (Aw) has an extended dry season
during winter. Precipitation during the wet season is usually less than
1000 millimeters, and only during the summer season.
Dry Climates (B)
The most obvious climatic feature of this climate is that potential
evaporation and transpiration exceed precipitation. These climates extend
from 20 - 35° North and South of the equator and in large continental
regions of the mid-latitudes often surrounded by mountains. Minor types of
this climate include:
• BW - dry arid (desert) is a true desert climate. It covers 12% of the
Earth's land surface and is dominated by xerophytic vegetation. The
additional letters h and k are used generally to distinguish whether the
dry arid climate is found in the subtropics or in the mid-latitudes,
respectively.
• BS - dry semiarid (steppe). Is a grassland climate that covers 14% of the
Earth's land surface. It receives more precipitation than the BW either
from the intertropical convergence zone or from mid-latitude cyclones.
Once again, the additional letters h and k are used generally to
distinguish whether the dry semiarid climate is found in the subtropics or
in the mid-latitudes, respectively.
Xerophyte definition is - a plant adapted for life and growth with a limited water supply.
Moist Subtropical Mid-Latitude Climates (C)
This climate generally has warm and humid summers with mild
winters. Its extent is from 30 to 50° of latitude mainly on the
eastern and western borders of most continents. During the
winter, the main weather feature is the mid-latitude cyclone.
Convective thunderstorms dominate summer months.
Three minor types exist:
• Cfa - humid subtropical;
• Cs - Mediterranean; and
• Cfb - marine.
The humid subtropical climate (Cfa) has hot muggy summers and
frequent thunderstorms. Winters are mild and precipitation
during this season comes from mid-latitude cyclones. A good
example of a Cfa climate is the southeastern USA.
• Cfb marine climates are found on the western coasts of continents. They have a humid climate with
short dry summer. Heavy precipitation occurs during the mild winters because of the continuous
presence of mid-latitude cyclones.
• Mediterranean climates (Cs) receive rain primarily during winter season from the mid-latitude
cyclone. Extreme summer aridity is caused by the sinking air of the subtropical highs and may exist for
up to 5 months. Locations in North America are from Portland, Oregon to all of California.
Moist Continental Mid-latitude Climates (D)
Moist continental mid-latitude climates have warm to cool
summers and cold winters. The location of these climates is pole
ward of the C climates. The average temperature of the warmest
month is greater than 10° Celsius, while the coldest month is less
than -3° Celsius. Winters are severe with snowstorms, strong
winds, and bitter cold from Continental Polar or Arctic air masses.
Like the C climates there are three minor types:
• Dw - dry winters;
• Ds - dry summers; and
• Df - wet all season
Polar Climates (E)
Polar climates have year-round cold temperatures with the warmest month less than 10° Celsius. Polar
climates are found on the northern coastal areas of North America, Europe, Asia, and on the landmasses
of Greenland and Antarctica. Two minor climate types exist.
• ET or polar tundra is a climate where the soil is permanently frozen to depths of hundreds of meters,
a condition known as permafrost. Vegetation is dominated by mosses, lichens, dwarf trees and
scattered woody shrubs.
• EF or polar ice caps has a surface that is permanently covered with snow and ice.
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
Accordingly, the climate of a particular place is the function of a number of
factors. These factors include:
1) Latitude and its influence on solar radiation received.
2) Air mass influences.
3) Location of global high and low pressure zones.
4) Heat exchange from ocean currents.
5) Distribution of mountain barriers.
6) Pattern of prevailing winds.
7) Distribution of land and sea.
8) Altitude.
Iloilo City, Iloilo, the Philippines coordinates Coordinates for Goodyear, Arizona
Latitude : 10° 43' 13.1556'' N Latitude : N 33.254031
Longitude :122° 33' 43.2684'' E Longitude W -112.366472
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
2) Air mass influences.
AIR MASSES
When a large body of air remains over an area for
several days or weeks, the body of air may change
its thermal and moisture properties according to
the land or water under it. The air exchanges heat
with the land or water, either warming or cooling,
until its temperature closely matches that of the
surface below it. The body of air also gains or loses
moisture depending on the temperature and
moisture content of the surface. A body of air that
resembles the characteristics of the surface under
it is called an air mass.
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
3. Location of global high and low pressure zones.
High and Low Pressure
• High pressure is associated with sinking
air, and low pressure is associated with
rising air. But why? The answer has to
do with the typical air flow around high
and low pressure. Physically, it seems
to make sense to have air flow from
high pressure to low pressure.
• The airflow (due to the Earth’s rotation
and friction) is directed slightly inward
toward the low pressure center, and
slightly outward away from the high
pressure center:
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HOW DO OCEAN CURRENTS WORK
• Just like the atmospheric cells and surface winds, the swirling oceanic currents of
the planet also play an important role in the redistributing energy, making sure
that the low latitudes tropical regions do not become too hot and the poles do not
become too cold.
• Energy is redistributed in the oceans by ocean currents. This is permanent or
continuous movement of ocean water from one place to another. They can flow
for thousands of kilometres and can result in warm water being transferred to high
latitudes (The Poles) and cool water being transferred to low latitudes (the Equator
and Tropics). Ocean currents can also determine the climates of continents.
• Ocean currents are driven by a phenomenon known as “thermohaline
circulation”. The thermo refers to the sun’s heat and the haline to the salt
content. Both of these factors determine the density of ocean water. Colder
water, and that with a higher salt content is much denser than warmer water
with a lower salt content.
• Uneven heating of surface water in high and low latitudes sets up convection
currents which transfer energy.
• The direct heat from the sun makes Equatorial water warm. Water here also has
a lower salt content than that at the Poles. This warm water is less dense so
moves along the ocean surface from the Equator to the Poles. A good example
of such an ocean current would be the North Atlantic Drift
• In contrast, due to less insolation the water at the Poles is much colder and also
contains more salt making it far denser than Equatorial water. The cold, dense water
from the Poles flows along the ocean bed towards warmer equatorial regions . A good
example is the Labrador current or the East Greenland current.
• The end result is a circulatory system of currents, which is disrupted and distorted by
the effects of the earth’s rotation and the distribution of land masses.
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
5) Distribution of mountain barriers.
(Physical Geography) a series of adjoining mountains or of lines
of mountains of similar origin
Useful notes on Mountain barriers
Mountain barriers force the moisture- bearing winds to ascend, so that condensation and precipitation
occur. The precipitation is concentrated on the windward slopes, and a rain shadow is produced on the
leeward.
All over the world, wherever the prevailing winds blowing from the oceans to the land are blocked by
mountain ranges or plateaus, copious rainfall results on the windward slopes.
Even in tropical regions, orographic lifting is one of the main factors for record annual rainfalls. However,
upper-air subsidence, as in trade-wind inversion, is not conducive to precipitation at high altitudes.
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Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
6) Pattern of prevailing winds.
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
6) Pattern of prevailing winds.
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
7) Distribution of land and sea .
Effects of land-sea distribution and mountains on climate
Even at the same latitude, climate is different between over oceans and over land, or between coastal and
interior areas of a continent. The cause of the difference is primarily the difference of heat content between
ocean and land, and next the difference of capability to supply water. In addition, the fact that the land surface is
not usually flat but have mountains affects climate.
Heat capacity is the amount of energy required to warm a certain body of matter by a unit temperature (typically
1 K, i.e. 1 oC). In this context, we are concerned about the heat capacity of such layer of land and ocean,
respectively, that take part to the seasonal change of temperature. For land where the only means of vertical
energy transfer is conduction, we may consider a soil layer 1 meter deep. For ocean, on the other hand, energy
can be transferred by vertical motion of water, i.e. convection. A layer of water approximately 100 m deep is
mixed, and this layer is called the mixed layer. Actually the efficiency of convection is very different dependent on
whether the layer is cooled or warmed from above. But even it is warmed, a mixed layer, tens of meters deep, is
formed by mixing caused by wind stress. Heat capacity per area is the product of the depth of the layer, specific
heat capacity (heat capacity per mass), and density. In a crude estimation, it is a hundred times larger for the
ocean than for the land.
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
7) Distribution of land and sea .
Monsoons
Monsoon means the seasonal reversal of prevailing wind direction. The English word monsoon is often used
specifically to mean the phenomenon in the tropics in summer (June to September in the northern hemisphere,
December to March in the southern hemisphere). On the other hand, the Japanese equivalent kisetsu-fû (literally
`seasonal winds') is often used to mean the phenomenon in the middle latitude zone in winter.
Due to the difference of heat capacity between the ocean and the land (discussed above), the land is warmer than
the ocean in summer, and colder in winter. By this, such atmospheric circulation that rising takes place over the land
is formed in summer, and sinking over the land in winter. In terms of surface pressure, low pressure is formed over
the land in summer and high pressure in winter. Originally the subtropical zone is a high pressure belt and the
subpolar zone (the poleward part of the extratropical cyclone zone) is a low pressure zone. Therefore the contrast
between the land and the ocean is better recognized in the subtropics in summer and in the subpolar zone in
winter. If the circulation is coupled with cumulus convection (as discussed below), the vercital circulation cell
becomes as deep as the whole troposphere. Otherwise the circulation cell is shallower and closed within the lower
half of troposphere.
Factors Influencing the World Climatic Regions
8) Altitude.
How does altitude influence climate?
Altitude refers to the height above sea level.Temperature decreases with increasing height above sea
level. This makes the higher areas to have lower temperatures than the lower areas. A rise in altitude
causes a fall in temperature and a cooling effect which causes condensation. This leads to precipitation on
the windward side or lowering of altitude leads to warming effect on the leeward side. There are
variations in pressure gradient caused by altitude whereby the higher you go the thinner the pressure.
Altitude causes Anabatic and Kabatic winds or subsequent temperature inversion.
