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The climate system is a complex global system consisting of five main components: the atmosphere, the oceans, the cryosphere (consisting of surface snow and ice), the land surface, the biosphere, and the interactions between these components.
In 1844 the Russian climatologist Wladimir Petrovich Köppen created the climate system that bears his last name (Köppen System) and establishes the way in which, even today, the climate around the world is classified. According to Köppen, the climate of a place can be inferred by looking at the native plant life of the area and deducing how the different plant species that thrive there depend on the amount of annual and monthly average rainfall and the average monthly air temperature of the place . . In fact, Köppen created different climatic categories based on these measurements.
climatic categories
Köppen created a climate classification scale grouping all the climates around the world into five main categories and abbreviated them with capital letters thus:
- Tropical (A).
- Dry (B) .
- Temperate/Humid mid-latitudes (C) .
- Continental/Dry mid-latitudes (D) .
- Polar (E) .
Each of these climate categories can be further divided into subcategories based on precipitation patterns and seasonal temperatures in a region. In the Köppen scheme, these subcategories are also represented by lowercase letters, in which the second letter indicates the precipitation regime and the third the degree of heat in summer or cold in winter.
tropical climates
Tropical climates (A) are known for their high temperatures experienced throughout the year and their high annual rainfall. In this type of climate, every month there are average temperatures above 18°C (64°F), which means that there is no snowfall, even in the months of the winter season.
Subcategory A
The microclimates of climate category A are:
- Wet (f).
- Monsoon (m) .
- Winter dry season (w) .
Thus, the range of tropical climates includes:
- Humid tropical (Af). Considered an equatorial climate, it is warm and rainy throughout the year and no month has rainfall below 60mm.
- Tropical monsoon (Am). This climate is warm all year round. It has a dry season followed by a wet season with heavy rains.
- Dry tropical (Aw). Considered a savannah climate, it is warm year-round with a dry season.
dry climates
In dry climates (B) temperatures similar to those of the tropical climate are experienced, however, in dry climate regions annual rainfall is less than 300mm, creating marked thermal oscillations between day and night. In dry climates, the tendency to heat and dryness causes evaporation to be greater than precipitation.
Subcategory B
The microclimates of climate category B are indicators of the degree of aridity and are classified as follows:
- Steppe (S). Also called semi-arid climate, it is characterized by its scarce presence of precipitations, strong winds without humidity and extensive plains with scarce vegetation. It may be similar to the weather in the savannahs, but it is not as hot.
- Desert (W) . This microclimate has high temperatures, low rainfall and annual rainfall of less than 200 millimeters. Its lack of rain prevents the growth of vegetation and, even with rain, water is usually lost due to evaporation and transpiration from the soil.
In this division there are two additional letters indicating the temperature regime.
- Hot (h). With an average annual temperature above 18ºC.
- Cold (k). With an average temperature below 18ºC.
Thus, the range of dry climates includes:
- Hot dry semi-arid climate (BSh).
- Cold semi-arid dry climate (BSk).
- Hot desert dry climate (BWh).
- Cold desert dry climate (BWk).
temperate climates
Temperate climates (C) are influenced by both the land and the water around them, meaning they have warm to hot summers and mild winters. Its coldest months could have temperatures between -3ºC (27°F) and 18ºC (64°F).
Subcategory C
The microclimates of climate category C are indicators of the rainy season and are classified as follows:
- Dry summer(s). In this microclimate, the precipitation of the driest month of summer is less than a third of the precipitation of the wettest month.
- Dry winter (w). The precipitation of the driest winter month is less than one tenth of the precipitation of the wettest month.
- Wet (f). It does not have a dry season.
The third letter indicates the increase in temperatures in summer.
- Hot or subtropical summer (a). With hot and humid climates, quite high temperatures in summer and extremely cold in winter. Extended and constant rainfall throughout the year.
- Mild summer (b). They are cool climates that do not exceed 22ºC on average in their warmest month and with average temperatures above 10ºC at least four months a year.
- Cold (c). cold summers, average temperature above 10°C.
Thus, the range of temperate climates includes:
- Mediterranean (Csa).
- Mediterranean cool summers (Csb).
- Subtropical with dry winter (Cwa).
- Temperate with dry winters (Cwb).
- Humid subtropical (Cfa).
- West Coast Maritime (Cfb) (Oceanic).
- Subarctic Maritime (Cfc) (cold oceanic).
continental climates
Continental (D) climates, also known as mid-latitude dry climates, are one of the climates with the most noticeable changes in its four seasons. It is also famous for its thermal variations as the seasons change, with very hot summers and remarkably cold winters. In hot months you can see temperatures of 10ºC and in the coldest months -3ºC. This climate covers an extensive territory of America, Asia and Europe.
Subcategory D
The microclimates of climate category D are:
- Summer dry season (s).
- Winter dry season (w).
- Wet (f) from German feucht for wet.
D climates can be further reduced by the following criteria:
- Hot summer
- Mild summer (b).
- Cold (c).
- Very cold winter (d).
Thus, the range of continental climates includes:
- Continental climates of hot summer (Dsa), warm (Dsb), cold (Dsc) and very cold (Dsd).
- Continental climates of hot (Dwa), warm (Dwb), cold (Dwc) and very cold (Dwd) winter winters. These climates are often called subarctic or boreal continental climates.
- Hot humid continental climates (Dfa), warm (Dfb), cold with snow (Dfc) and very cold with snow (Dfd). These are also known as subarctic continental climates with extremely cold winters.
polar climates
Polar climates (E) are typical of the north and south poles, as well as mountains at lower latitudes. With little rainfall and temperatures below 0°C, the climates of places like Greenland and Antarctica stand out.
Subcategory E
This category has only two microclimates:
- Tundra (T). The average temperature of the warmest month is between 0ºC and 10ºC.
- Perpetual ice (F). The average temperature of the warmest month is below 0ºC.
Thus, the range of polar climates includes:
- Polar climate with tundra (ET).
- Polar climate with perpetual ice (EF).
Climates of the Highlands
There is also a sixth category in the Köppen climate system called Highland (H) or highland climate , however, this category was not in the original scheme, but was included some time later in order to accommodate changes in climate. while someone climbs a mountain. The temperature and rainfall in regions with this climate will depend on the altitude, so there will be variations from mountain to mountain. On the other hand, there are no subcategories for this climate.
Sources
- Finlayson, B., McMahon, T. & Peel, M. (2007). Updated world map of the Koppen-Geiger climate classification.
- Wand, M. & Overland, J. (2004). Detecting arctic climate change using Köppen climate classification.
