World Geography Climates

Climates of the world

Warm up

• List as many climates as you can think of.

Climate

• Climate– Is the term for weather

conditions at a particular location over a period of time

Climate

Wind Currents

• Convection– The transfer of heat in the atmosphere by

upward motion of air

Ocean Currents

• Currents are like rivers flowing in the ocean, moving in circular patterns– Warm water flows away from the equator and cold

water flows away from the poles to the equator

Tropical Wet

• Region has very little temperature variation.– Usually in the 80’s– Days are sunny to begin

with but turn cloudy in the afternoon.

– Average about 80 inches of rain a year.

– Central and South America, Africa and Aisa

Tropical Wet and Dry

• This is called “wet and dry” because the subregion has a rainy season in summer and a dry season in winter.– Rainfall is less than in

the tropical wet.– Next to tropical wet

climates– Central and South

America, Africa, and Asia

Semiarid

• Subregion does receive precipitation, just not very much– About 16 inches a year– Summers are hot– Winters are mild to cold

and may get snow– This area is found on the

6 main continents

Desert

• Deserts are categorized according to the amount of rainfall, rather than landforms.– Can be hot or cold– Less than 10 inches of

rain a year– Temperature drops at

night because the air can not hold the heat

Mediterranean

• This land is named for the land around the Mediterranean Sea where it is located– It also exist elsewhere

like the west coast of the U.S.

– Hot and dry summer– Winters cool and rainy– Support a dense

population

Marine West Coast

• Is located close to the ocean and is frequently cloudy, foggy and damp.– Winds of the ocean keep

the temperature relatively constant.

– Rain is spread evenly throughout the year

– West Coast United States, Canada, and West Coast Europe

Humid Subtropics

• Long period of summer heat and humidity characterize the humid subtropics– Found on East Coast of

Continents (southeast U.S. Coast and China)

– Prone to hurricanes– Winters are mild, good for

raising crops– Rice crops flourish in these

tropics

Humid Continental

• A great variety in temperature and precipitation characterizes this climate– Found interior continents– Upper northern

hemisphere continents– Can see all four seasons.– Get arctic air masses

collide with tropic air masses.

Subarctic

• Evergreen forests called taiga cover the lands in the subarctic region– Big temperature

variations from summer to winter

– Cool summers– Cold and snowy winter– Below freezing

temperatures 5 to 8 months of the year

Tundra

• The flat Treeless lands forming a ring around the Artic Ocean .– Very little precipitation

falls here (less than 15 inches a year)

– Northern Hemisphere– Permafrost- subsoil is

frozen year round– Summer last for only a

few weeks a year

Highlands

• Varies with latitude, elevation other topography and continental location– Weather can vary based

on such factors as whether a slope faces north or south, or exposed to winds carrying moisture.