EM: climates - summary
The
Equatorial climate is found in the Amazon Basin (South America), the
Congo Basin (Africa), Malaysia, Indonesia and some areas in northern Australia.
It has average monthly temperatures of between 26ºC and 28ºC and high regular
precipitations of about 2000mm a year. There´s no seasonal variation because
throughout the year temperatures keep high. Every day is like the other:
there´s high evaporation, clouds are formed and that causes heavy rains.
According to Koppen’s Classification, Equatorial is a tropical moist climate.
The
Monsoon climates are found in South and Central America, but
there are also sections of South and Southeast
Asia, Africa (mostly West and Central), the Caribbean,
and North America that also have this climate. Its annual average
temperature is 27ºC (high temperatures all along the year) and it rains about 600mm per year. There are well-divided
four seasons, even though temperatures are high all along the year. A major
feature of monsoon climates is the Monsoon Tropical Forest that is found in
tropical areas with a distinct dry season. For the Koppen’s Classification,
this climate is a tropical moist climate.
The
Tropical Continental or Savannah climate climate is located in parts of
Central Africa, northern Australia and some areas in South America. The daily
range temperature is around 15ºC. A special feature of this type of climate is
the fact that there are distinct wet and dry seasons. Most of the rainfall
occurs during a particular period during the year (the wet season). The areas
closer to the Equator have a larger wet season and 1000mm of precipitations per
year, in exchange, areas away from the Equator have shorter wet seasons and
300mm of rainfall a year. According to the Koppen’s Classification, it is a dry
climate.
The
Hot Deserts is found between 20º and 35º north and south of the Equator.
During the day, temperatures can reach 50ºC, while at night they can fall to
below 0ºC. Rainfalls are very low, as deserts have less than 250mm of
precipitations per year. A major feature of this type of climate may be that
temperatures have a huge change between day and night. This climate is
classified by the Koppen’s Classification as a dry climate.
Cold
climates are found in the polar circles at
the poles (90 degrees north and south) and the zones of
elevated altitude. They have very low temperatures (below 0ºC) and abundant
precipitations, most of them in form of snow. There is no seasonal variation,
as temperatures are very cold all along the year. Special features of this
climate may be the very cold temperatures (under 0 degrees C)
and the fact that, in the High Artic, the sun sets in October and doesn’t rise
again until February. Taking into account the Koppen’s Classification, this
climate is a polar climate.
The
Tundra climates are located at latitudes 55° to 70° North,
surrounding the North pole.Their average annual temperatures are -28°C and they
have precipitations of around 350mm a year, most of them in as snow. As regards
seasonal variation, Tundra presents long and cold winters and short but rich
summers. A major feature of Tundra can be that it covers about 20% of the
Earth's surface. Another important characteristic is that nights can last for
weeks in winter and in summer sun rises almost 24 hours a day. The Koppen’s
Classification ranks Tundra as a polar climate.
