Climate zones of the world
Climate is the weather statistic, usually over a 30-year interval, measured by evaluating patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count, and other meteorological variables 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. Map 2009.
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.
Summing up the climatic classification of Köppen, the following types of climate can be indicated:
- A - Tropical (megathermal) climates, (Warm, from the intertropical zone).
- B - Dry (arid and semiarid) climates (located in the subtropical zones and in the interior of the continents of the intertropical zone or the temperate zones). It is divided into two types: Desert (BW) and semi-desert or steppe (BS).
- C - Temperate (mesothermal) climates.
- D - Continental (microthermal) climates (located at high latitudes, close to polar circles and where the influence of the sea is very limited).
- E - Polar and alpine (montane) climates. They are located in polar, limited areas. towards the equator by the polar Circles.
- H - Undifferentiated high mountain climates.
Other lowercase letters are added to determine subgroups or subtypes:
- f - Rains all year round without defined dry season, eg: in the intertropical zone Af = rainforest climate.
- w - Rains in summer, also in the intertropical zone, eg: Aw = Savannah climate
- m - Monsoon rains. Similar to the Aw, but with more intense rains caused by the marked difference of atmospheric pressures between the ocean and the continents. It only appears in the south and southeast of the Asian continent. The rains are usually very intense and prolonged during the hot season, when low continental pressures attract winds from the Indian Ocean laden with moisture, which are discharged on the southern slopes of the Himalayas and other mountain ranges causing overflowing of large rivers of the area, such as the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Irrawaddy, the Salween and the Mekong, as well as other rivers in southern China.
- s - Rain in winter. It corresponds to the dry subtropical climate or Mediterranean climate (Csa according to Köppen), located in the subtropical latitudes of the western coasts of the continents.