Class #12: Thursday, July 22 Climate types

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 1

Class #12: Thursday, July 22Climate types

Chapter 17


Global Climate

Chapter 17


A World with Many Climates Micro, meso, macro Global Climate Climate controls

LatitudeLand and waterOcean currentsPrevailing windsPressure cellsMountain barriersAltitude


A World with Many Climates

• Global temperatures– East-west isotherms– Bends or kinks due to ocean currents and

continents• Global precipitation– Precipitation occurs consistently where low

pressure belts exist in the Global Circulation Model

– Mountains, rain shadow

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 5Fig. 17-CO, p. 468

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 10Fig. 1, p. 475


A World with Many Climates

• Topic: Precipitation Extremes– Rainiest locations on windward side of mountains– Driest locations in frigid polar regions


Climate Classification

The Ancient GreeksTropical, temperate, and polar zone

The Köppen SystemWaldimir KöppenRelated vegetation and climate in order to predict

climate types in areas without climate data The Thornthwaite System

P/E ratio, P/E IndexPotential Evapotranspiration

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 15Stepped Art

Fig. 17-6, p. 477


The Global Pattern of Climate

• Tropical Moist Climates (Group A)– General characteristics: year-round warm

temperatures abundant rainfall– Extent: northward and southward from the

equator to about 15º to 25º– Major Types: tropical wet (Af), tropical monsoon

(Am), tropical wet and dry (Aw)

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 19Table 17-1a, p. 480

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 20Table 17-1b, p. 480



• Dry Climates (Group B)– General Characteristics: deficient precipitation

most of the year; potential evaporation and transpiration exceed precipitation

– Extent: the subtropical deserts extend roughly 20º and 30º latitude in large continental regions of the middle latitudes, often surrounded by mountains

– Major Types: arid (BW), semi-arid (BS)



• Observation: Deserts with Clouds and Drizzle– A desert that owes it existence, in part, to its

proximity to cold ocean water and, in part, to the position and air motions of the subtropical high pressure cell.



• Moist Subtropical Mid-latitude Climates (Group C)– General Characteristics: humid with mil winters– Extent: on the eastern and western regions of

most continents, from about 25º to 40º latitude– Major types: humid subtropical (Cfa), marine

(Cfb), Mediterranean (Cs)



Moist Continental Climates (Group D)General characteristics: warm-to-cool summers and

cold winters; winters are severe with snowstorms, blustery winds, bitter cold; climate controlled by large continents

Extent: north of moist subtropical mid-latitude climates

Major types: humid continental with hot summers (Dfa), humid continental with cool summers (Dfb), subpolar (Dfc)

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 42Table 1, p. 492



• Topics: Dry Spells and Drought– Drought :a period of abnormally dry weather– Dry spell: normal seasonal dry period



• Polar Climates (Group E)– General Characteristics: year-round low

temperatures– Extent: northern coastal areas of North America

and Eurasia; Greenland and Antarctica– Major types: polar tundra (ET), polar ice caps (EP)



• Highland Climates (Group H)– Decrease in temperature with elevation– Vertical zonation

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 55Table 17-2, p. 499

Class #12, Thursday, July 22 56Table 17-3, p. 499

Class #12: Thursday, July 22 Climate types

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