What are the 5 Climate Regions?
According to the Köppen climate classification system, there are five climate groups: tropical, dry, mild, continental, and polar. These climate groups are further divided into climate types. The following list shows the climate groups and their types:
Tropical
Wet (rain forest)
Monsoon
Wet and dry (savanna)
Dry
Arid
Semiarid
Mild
Mediterranean
Humid subtropical
Marine
Continental
Warm summer
Cool summer
Subarctic (boreal)
Polar
Tundra
Ice cap
Tropical Climates
There are three climate types in the tropical group: tropical wet; tropical monsoon; and tropical wet and dry.
Tropical Wet: Rain Forests
Places with a tropical wet climate are also known as rain forests. These equatorial regions have the most predictable weather on Earth, with warm temperatures and regular rainfall. Annual rainfall exceeds 150 centimeters (59 inches), and the temperature varies more during a day than it does over a year. The coolest temperature, about 20° to 23° Celsius (68°-73° Fahrenheit), occurs just before dawn. Afternoon temperatures usually reach 30° to 33° Celsius (86°-91° Fahrenheit). Rain forests experience very little seasonal change, meaning average monthly temperatures remain fairly constant throughout the year.
Tropical wet climates exist in a band extending about 10° of latitude on either side of the Equator. This part of the globe is always under the influence of the intertropical convergence zone. The ITCZ follows a pendulum-like path during the course of a year, moving back and forth across the Equator with the seasons. It moves north during summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and south during the northern winter.
Some tropical wet climates are wet throughout the year. Others experience more rainfall during the summer or winter, but they never have especially dry seasons. The U.S. state of Hawaii; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Belém, Brazil, are examples of areas with tropical wet climates.
Tropical Monsoon
Tropical monsoon climates are most found in southern Asia and West Africa. A monsoon is a wind system that reverses its direction every six months. Monsoons usually flow from sea to land in the summer, and from land to sea in the winter.
Summer monsoons bring large amounts of rainfall to tropical monsoon regions. People living in these regions depend on the seasonal rains to bring water to their crops. India and Bangladesh are famous for their monsoon climate patterns.
Tropical Wet and Dry: Savanna
Tropical wet and dry climates are sometimes called “savanna” climates after the grassland ecosystem defined by wet and dry periods.
Tropical wet and dry climates sit just outside the ITCZ, near the Equator. They have three seasons. One season is cool and dry—when the warm, moist ITCZ is in the opposite hemisphere. Another season is hot and dry as the ITCZ approaches. The last season is hot and wet as the ITCZ arrives and the region experiences months as a tropical wet climate.
Life in these tropical wet and dry regions depends on the wet season’s rains. During years when rains are light, people and animals suffer through drought. During especially rainy years, regions may experience flooding. Havana, Cuba; Kolkata, India; and Africa’s vast Serengeti Plain are in the wet and dry tropics.
Dry Climates
Regions lying within the dry climate group occur where precipitation is low. There are two dry climate types: arid and semiarid. Most arid climates receive 10 to 30 centimeters (4 to 12 inches) of rain each year, and semiarid climates receive enough to support extensive grasslands.
Temperatures in both arid and semiarid climates show large daily and seasonal variations. The hottest spots in the world are in arid climates. The temperature in the arid North African town of El Aziza, Libya, reached 58° Celsius (136° Fahrenheit) on September 13, 1922—the highest weather temperature ever recorded.
Although rainfall is limited in all dry climates, there are a few parts of the world where it never rains. One of the driest places on Earth is the Atacama Desert of Chile, on the west coast of South America. Stretches of the Atacama have never received rain in recorded history.
Semiarid regions, such as the Australian Outback, usually receive between 25 and 50 centimeters (10-20 inches) of rainfall every year. They are often located between arid and tropical climate regions.
Arid and semiarid climates can occur where the movement of warm, moist air is blocked by mountains. Denver, Colorado, just east of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S., has this type of dry climate, known as a “rain shadow.”
Arid climate
semi arid climate
Mild Climates
Regions with mild and continental climates are also called temperate regions. Both climate types have distinct cold seasons. In these parts of the world, climate is influenced mostly by latitude and a region’s position on the continent.
Mediterranean
Mediterranean climates have warm summers and short, mild, rainy winters. Mediterranean climates are found on the west coasts of continents between 30° and 40° latitude, and along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Mediterranean summers feature clear skies, cool nights, and little rain. The city of Jerusalem, Israel, once had no rain in July for more than 100 years.
Humid Subtropical
Humid subtropical climates are usually found on the eastern sides of continents. In cities such as Savannah, Georgia, in the U.S.; Shanghai, China; and Sydney, Australia, summers are hot and humid. Winter can be severely cold. Precipitation is spread evenly through the year and totals 76 to 165 centimeters (30-65 inches). Hurricanes and other violent storms are common in these regions.
Marine West Coast
Weather on both sides of a continent generally becomes cooler as latitude increases.
The marine west coast climate, a type of mild climate typical of cities such as Seattle, Washington, in the U.S. and Wellington, New Zealand, has a longer, cooler winter than the Mediterranean climate. Drizzle falls about two-thirds of winter days, and temperatures average about 5° Celsius (41° Fahrenheit).
Continental Climates
Areas with continental climates have colder winters, longer-lasting snow, and shorter growing seasons. They are the transition zones between mild and polar climates. Continental climates experience extreme seasonal changes.
The range of weather in continental climate regions makes them among the most spectacular sites for weather phenomena. In autumn, for instance, vast forests put on their annual show of brilliant color before shedding their leaves as winter approaches. Thunderstorms and tornadoes, among the most powerful forces in nature, form mostly in continental climates.
There are three types of continental climate—warm summer, cool summer, and subarctic. All these climates exist only in the Northern Hemisphere. Usually, continental climates are found in the interior of continents.
Warm Summer
Warm summer climate regions often have wet summer seasons, similar to monsoon climates. For this reason, this climate type is also called humid continental. Most of Eastern Europe, including Romania and Georgia, has warm summer climates.
Cool Summer
Cool summer climates have winters with low temperatures and snow. Cold winds, sweeping in from the Arctic, dominate winter weather.
People living in these climates have grown accustomed to the harsh weather, but those unprepared for such cold may suffer. Many of Napoleon Bonaparte’s soldiers, for example, were used to the mild Mediterranean climates of France. Thousands died in bitter cold as they retreated from Russia’s cool summer climate in the winter of 1812.
Subarctic
North of regions with cool summer climates are regions with subarctic climates. These regions, including northern Scandinavia and Siberia, experience very long, cold winters with little precipitation. Subarctic climates are also called boreal climates or taiga.
Polar Climates
The two polar climate types, tundra and ice cap, lie within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles near the North and South Poles.
Tundra
In tundra climates, summers are short, but plants and animals are plentiful. Temperatures can average as high as 10° Celsius (50° Fahrenheit) in July. Wildflowers dot the landscape, and flocks of migratory birds feed on insects and fish. Whales feed on microscopic creatures in the region’s cold, nutrient-rich waters. People have adapted to life on the tundra for thousands of years.
Ice Cap
Few organisms survive in the ice cap climates of the Arctic and Antarctic. Temperatures rarely rise above freezing, even in summer. The ever-present ice helps keep the weather cold by reflecting most of the Sun’s energy back into the atmosphere. Skies are mostly clear and precipitation is low. In fact, Antarctica, covered by an ice cap a mile thick, is one of the largest, driest deserts on Earth.
High Elevation Climates
Many geographers and climatologists have modified the Köppen classification system over the years, including geographer Glen Trewartha, who added a category for high-elevation climates.
There are two high elevation climate types: upland and highland. Upland climates occur on high plateaus, or flat-topped mountains. The Patagonian Plateau, in southern South America, has an upland climate.
Highland climates occur on mountains.
