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A 2018 study provides detailed maps for present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Other Köppen climate maps. All maps use the ≥0 °C definition for the temperate-continental border.
- Overview
- System
•The Köppen classification subdivides terrestrial climates into five major types, represented by the capital letters A, B, C, D, and E.
•Type B climates are defined by dryness; all others are defined by temperature.
•Type A climates focus on the seasonality of their precipitation.
•Type E climates are separated into tundra (ET) and snow/ice climates (EF).
•The midlatitude C and D climates are given a second letter, f (no dry season), w (winter dry), or s (summer dry), and a third symbol, a, b, c, or d (the last subclass exists only for D climates), indicating summer warmth or winter coldness.
•The H climate (highlands), which Köppen did not use, is sometimes added to other classifications to account for elevations above 1,500 metres (about 4,900 feet).
Köppen’s classification is based on a subdivision of terrestrial climates into five major types, which are represented by the capital letters A, B, C, D, and E. Each of these climate types except for B is defined by temperature criteria. Type B designates climates in which the controlling factor on vegetation is dryness (rather than coldness). Aridity is not a matter of precipitation alone but is defined by the relationship between the precipitation input to the soil in which the plants grow and the evaporative losses. Since evaporation is difficult to evaluate and is not a conventional measurement at meteorological stations, Köppen was forced to substitute a formula that identifies aridity in terms of a temperature-precipitation index (that is, evaporation is assumed to be controlled by temperature). Dry climates are divided into arid (BW) and semiarid (BS) subtypes, and each may be differentiated further by adding a third code, h for warm and k for cold.
As noted above, temperature defines the other four major climate types. These are subdivided, with additional letters again used to designate the various subtypes. Type A climates (the warmest) are differentiated on the basis of the seasonality of precipitation: Af (no dry season), Am (short dry season), or Aw (winter dry season). Type E climates (the coldest) are conventionally separated into tundra (ET) and snow/ice climates (EF). The mid-latitude C and D climates are given a second letter, f (no dry season), w (winter dry), or s (summer dry), and a third symbol (a, b, c, or d [the last subclass exists only for D climates]), indicating the warmth of the summer or the coldness of the winter. Although Köppen’s classification did not consider the uniqueness of highland climate regions, the highland climate category, or H climate, is sometimes added to climate classification systems to account for elevations above 1,500 metres (about 4,900 feet).
The Köppen classification has been criticized on many grounds. It has been argued that extreme events, such as a periodic drought or an unusual cold spell, are just as significant in controlling vegetation distributions as the mean conditions upon which Köppen’s scheme is based. It also has been pointed out that factors other than those used in the classification, such as sunshine and wind, are important to vegetation. Moreover, it has been contended that natural vegetation can respond only slowly to environmental change, so that the vegetation zones observable today are in part adjusted to past climates. Many critics have drawn attention to the rather poor correspondence between the Köppen zones and the observed vegetation distribution in many areas of the world. In spite of these and other limitations, the Köppen system remains the most popular climatic classification in use today.
Britannica Quiz
Oct 19, 2023 · Koppen Classification Map. The Köppen-Geiger system uses colors and shades to classify the world into five climate zones based on criteria like temperature, which allows for different vegetation growth. Map by H.E. Beck, N.E. Zimmermann, T.R. McVicar, N. Vergopolan, A. Berg, and E.F. Wood.
Oct 30, 2018 · We present new global maps of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification at an unprecedented 1-km resolution for the present-day (1980–2016) and for projected future conditions (2071–2100)...
- Hylke E. Beck, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Tim R. McVicar, Tim R. McVicar, Noemi Vergopolan, Alexis Berg,...
- 2018
Climate classification systems include: Aridity index – part of many systems; Alisov climate classification ; Berg climate classification; Köppen climate classification – most widely used in the 1954 Köppen–Geiger variant; Holdridge life zone classification – relatively simple; Lauer climate classification; Strahler climate ...
On this web site we provide global data, world maps and computer animations of our updated Köppen-Geiger climate classification published by Kottek et al. (2006), Rubel and Kottek (2010) and Rubel et al. (2017).
Based on recent data sets from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia and the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) at the German Weather Service, we present here a new digital Köppen-Geiger world map on climate classification, valid for the second half of the 20th century.
