classifying climate

CLASSIFYING CLIMATEWeather You Knew or Not!

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WEATHER

Minute by minute Local scale Variable Determines dress code

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CLIMATE

Average weather conditions Determined by long-term pattern of

temperature and precipitation averages and extremes at a location

Can refer to local, regional, or global areas

Can be described in decades, years, seasons, months, or specific dates of the year

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CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION

Equatorial (A) Arid (B) Warm Temperate (C) Snow (D) Polar (E)

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Tropical Moist Climates (Af) rainforest • Controlled by equatorial topical air masses• Average temperature: 18 °C (°F) • Annual Precipitation: 262 cm. (103 in.) • Latitude Range: 10° S to 25 ° N • Global Position: Amazon Basin; Congo Basin of equatorial Africa;

East Indies, from Sumatra to New Guinea.

3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 1: LOW-LATITUDE CLIMATES

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Wet-Dry Tropical Climates (Aw) Savanna • Temperature Range: 16°C • Annual Precipitation: summer wet (3 months), winter dry, usually less

than 300 mm per year• Latitude Range: 15° to 25° N and S • Global Range: India, Indochina, West Africa, southern Africa, South

America and the north coast of Australia .

3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 1: LOW-LATITUDE CLIMATES

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3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 1: LOW-LATITUDE CLIMATES

Dry Tropical Climate (Bw) desert biome • Temperature Range: 16° C • Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm (0.1 in). All months less than 0.25 cm

(0.1 in). • Latitude Range: 15°- 25° N and S. • Global Range: southwestern United States and northern Mexico;

Argentina; north Africa; south Africa; central part of Australia.

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Dry Midlatitude Climates (BS) steppe Temperature Range: 24° C (43° F). Annual Precipitation: less than 10 cm (4 in) in the driest regions to 50 cm (20

in) in the moister steppes. Latitude Range: 35° - 55° N. Global Range: Western North America (Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, Great

Plains); Eurasian interior, from steppes of eastern Europe to the Gobi Desert and North China.

3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 2: MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES

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3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 2: MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES

Mediterranean Climate (Cs) chaparral biome Temperature Range: 7 °C (12 °F) Annual Precipitation: 42 cm (17 in). Latitude Range: 30° - 50° N and S Global Position: central and southern California; coastal zones

bordering the Mediterranean Sea; coastal Western Australia and South Australia; Chilean coast; Cape Town region of South Africa

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3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 2: MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES

Dry Midlatitude Climates (Bs) grasslands biome Temperature Range: 31 °C (56°F). Annual Precipitation: 81 cm. (32 in.). Latitude Range: 30°- 55° N and S Global Position: western North America (Great Basin, Columbia

Plateau, Great Plains); Eurasian interior.

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3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 2: MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES

Moist Continental Climate (Cf) Deciduous Forest biome Temperature Range: 31 °C (56 ° F) Average Annual Precipitation: 81 cm (32 in). Latitude Range: 30° - 55° N and S (Europe: 45° - 60° N). Global Position: eastern parts of the United States and southern Canada;

northern China; Korea; Japan; central and eastern Europe.

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Boreal forest Climate ( Dfc) taiga biome Temperature Range: 41 °C (74 °F), lows; -25 °C (-14 °F), highs; 16 °C (60 °F). Average Annual Precipitation: 31 cm (12 in). Latitude Range: 50° - 70° N and S. Global Position: central and western Alaska; Canada, from the Yukon Territory to

Labrador; Eurasia, from northern Europe across all of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.

3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 3: HIGH-LATITUDE CLIMATES

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Tundra Climate (E) tundra biome Temperature Range: -22 °C to 6 °C (-10 °F to 41 °F). Average Annual Precipitation: 20 cm (8 in). Latitude Range: 60° - 75° N. Global Position: arctic zone of North America; Hudson Bay region;

Greenland coast; northern Siberia bordering the Arctic Ocean.

3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 3: HIGH-LATITUDE CLIMATES

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Highland Climate (H) Alpine Biome Temperature Range: -18 °C to 10 °C (-2 °F to 50°F) Average Annual Precipitation: 23 cm (9 in.) Latitude Range: found all over the world Global Position: Rocky Mountain Range in North America, the Andean

mountain range in South America, the Alps in Europe, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, the Himalayans in Tibet, Mt. Fuji in Japan.

3 BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS: GROUP 3: HIGH-LATITUDE CLIMATES

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ACTIVITY 1: CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES

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Classify each city in Table 1 into one of the 5 major climate types. Use the World Map as reference.

Compare the choices and reasoning for the whole class.

ACTIVITY 1: CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES – SETTING THE SCENE

City, Country Climate Type

Anchorage, Alaska

Bangalore, India

Bangkok, Thailand

Cairo, Egypt

Kiev, Ukraine

London, England

New Delhi, India

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Tokyo, Japan

A – Equatorial B – Arid C – Warm Temperate D – Snow E – Polar

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ACTIVITY 1: CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES HOW TO DETERMINE THE MAJOR CLIMATE TYPE USING THE KOPPEN-GEIGER CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION

Calculate the annual temperature (Tann) by adding up the monthly mean temperature values and dividing by 12 (the number of months in a year).

Record the coldest month’s temperature (Tmin) and the warmest month’s temperature (Tmax)

Add up the monthly mean precipitation values to find the accumulated annual precipitation (Pann).

Determine when precipitation falls and calculate the Precipitation Threshold (Pth).

Table 2AValue

Tann Annual Air Temperature (oC) 24.70° C

Tmin Air Temperature of Coldest Month (oC) 13.53° C

Tmax Air Temperature of Warmest Month (oC) 32.72° C

Pann Accumulated Annual Precipitation (mm) 710.16 mm

Pth Precipitation Threshold (mm) 77.40 mm 19

Using Part 1 of the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification key determine the major climate classification – Equatorial (A), Arid (B), Warm Temperate (C), Snow (D) or Polar (E).

New Delhi’s Main climate type is:

ACTIVITY 1: CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES HOW TO DETERMINE THE MAJOR CLIMATE TYPE USING THE KOPPEN-GEIGER CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION

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ACTIVITY 1: CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES HOW TO DETERMINE THE SUB CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION

Table 2B

Value

Tmin Amount of precipitation in the driest month (mm) 3.97 mm

Twmax Amount of precipitation in the wettest winter* month (mm)

22.78 mm

Twmin Amount of precipitation in the driest winter* month (mm)

3.97 mm

Psmax Amount of precipitation in the wettest summer* month (mm)

190.25 mm

Psmin Amount of precipitation in the driest summer* month (mm)

10.47 mm

Are there at least 4 months with Air Temperature greater than 10°C?

Yes

In the Arid (B) section determine the 2nd sub-category (based on precipitation) and the 3rd sub-category (based on temperature).

New Delhi’s first sub-climate classification is: STEPPE (S)

Second sub-climate classification is: HOT (h)

Köppen-Geiger Classification is: BSh

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ACTIVITY 1: CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES HOW TO DETERMINE THE SUB CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION

30 year data for New Delhi, India (1979-2009, from NCDC)

Month Mean Air Temperature (°C)

Monthly Accumulated Precipitation (mm)

January 13.53 18.58

February 16.98 21.53

March 22.52 22.78

April 28.88 10.47

May 32.33 36.61

June 32.72 84.02

July 30.87 184.49

August 29.99 190.25

September

29.06 115.45

October 25.32 12.59

November

19.54 3.97

December

14.65 9.42

Calculate the annual temperature [Tann] from Table 2 or the climograph in Figure 2 by adding up the monthly mean temperatures and dividing by 12 (the number of months in a year). Record this value in Table 2A.

Record the coldest month’s temperature (Tmin) and the warmest month’s temperature (Tmax) in Table 2A.

Add the monthly precipitation data to determine the accumulated annual precipitation (Pann). Using either Table 1 or the climograph in Figure 2 as well as the formulas below, determine

when precipitation falls and calculate the Precipitation Threshold (Pth). Complete Table 2A.

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If 70% or more of the precipitation falls during the ‘low-sun (winter) half of the year (November through March in the Northern Hemisphere, or April through September in the Southern Hemisphere) use the following formula: Pth = Tann x 2

If 70% or more of the precipitation falls during the ‘high- sun’(summer half of the year (April through September in the Northern Hemisphere, or October through March in the Southern Hemisphere) use the following formula: Pth = (Tann x 2) + 28

If precipitation is spread equally throughout the year, use the following formula:Pth = (Tann x 2) + 14

ACTIVITY 1: CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES HOW TO DETERMINE THE SUB CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION

Table 2A

Value

Tann Annual Air Temperature (°C)

Tmin Air Temperature of Coldest Month (°C)

Tmax Air Temperature of Warmest Month (°C)

Pann Accumulated Annual Precipitation (mm)

Pth Precipitation Threshold (mm)

Using Part 1 of the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification key determine the major climate classification – Equatorial (A), Arid (B), Warm Temperate (C), Snow (D) or Polar (E). New Delhi’s Main climate type is:

Using the city data provided Produce a climograph of

monthly mean air temperature and precipitation.

Write a description of the climate of this location.

Classify the climate of the location.

Compare findings with the original prediction at the start of Activity 1. Use the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification Map.

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ACTIVITY 2: PRACTICING CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION SKILLS

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Appendix D: Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification Map and Classification Descriptions

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