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CLIMATE REGIONS OF
THE WORLD
Dr. Hooda
Text Book
page # 482 491
THE BIG IDEA
What factors are used to
classify climates?
What are the six main
climate regions?
CLIMATE REGIONS
Scientists classify climates
according to two major factors:
Temperature
Precipitation
CLIMATE REGIONS
There are six main climate
regions:
Tropical rainy
Dry
Temperate marine
Temperate continental
Polar
Highlands
WORLD CLIMATES
CLIMATE REGIONS
1. TROPICAL RAINY CLIMATES
Temperature always 18 degrees Celsius
and above.
The tropics have two types of rainy
climates:
Tropical wet
Tropical wet-and-dry
TROPICAL WET CLIMATES
Always hot & humid, with heavy rainfall (at least
6 centimeters per month) all year round
 Are found in low -lying lands near the equator
 Many days are rainy, often with afternoon
thunderstorms
 Thunderstorms triggered by mid-day heating
 In many areas with a tropical-wet climate the
trade winds bring moisture from the oceans
TROPICAL WET CLIMATES
With year round heat and heavy rainfall,
vegetation grows lush and green
Dense rain forests grow in these climates
In the United States, only the windward sides
of Hawaiian islands have a tropical wet
climate
TROPICAL WET-AND-DRY CLIMATES
Always hot; alternating wet & dry seasons; heavy rainfall
in the wet season
 receive slightly less rain than tropical climates
 Have distinct dry and rainy seasons
 Instead of rainforests, tropical grasslands called
savannas grow
 In the United States only the southern tip of Florida has a
tropical wet-and-dry climate
2. DRY CLIMATES
Occurs wherever the amount of evaporation is
greater than precipitation; may be hot or cold
Dry climates include arid and semiarid
climates
Dry regions often lie inland
Far from the oceans that are the source of
humid air masses
SEMIARID CLIMATES
 Dry but receives about 25 to 50 centimeters pf
precipitation per year.
 Semiarid regions are usually located on the edges of
deserts
 These semiarid area are called steppes
 May also be called a prairie or a grassland
 The Great Plains are the major steppe region of the
United States
ARID CLIMATES
Arid Deserts, with little precipitation, usually less
than25 centimeters per year
 Only specializes plants and animals can survive
 Much of California’s southeast, including Death
Valley and the Mojave Desert, has an arid climate
3. TEMPERATE MARINE CLIMATES
Averages 10 degree Celsius or above in
warmest month, between -3 degree Celsius
and 18 degree Celsius in the coldest month
There are three types of temperate marine
climates:
Mediterranean
Humid subtropical
Marine west coast
MEDITERRANEAN
 Warm, dry summers & rainy winters
 A coastal climate that is drier and warmer than west coast
marine is known as Mediterranean
 Most areas with this climate are found around the
Mediterranean Sea
 In the United States, much of coastal California has a
Mediterranean climate
 Mild, with two seasons
 Winter – marine air masses bring cool, rainy weather
 Summer – somewhat warmer, with little rain
 Mediterranean climates have two main vegetation types:
 Chaparral (dense shrubs and small tress)
 Grasses with a few large trees
HUMID SUBTROPICAL
Hot summers & cool winters
 The warmest temperate marine climates are
along the edges of the tropics
 Humid subtropical climates are wet and warm
 Not as constantly hot as the tropics
 The southeastern United States has a humid
subtropical climate
 Summers are hot, with more rainfall than winters
 Winters are cool to mild, with more rain than snow
MARINE WEST COAST
Mild winters & cool summers, with moderate precipitation all year
 The coolest temperate marine climates are found on the west
coasts of continents north of 40 degrees north latitude and south
of 40 degrees south latitude
 Humid ocean air brings mild, rainy winters
 Summer precipitation can greatly vary
 In North America, the marine west coast climate extends from
northern California to southern Alaska
 Because of heavy precipitation, think forests of tall trees grow in
this region
 One of the major industries of this region is harvesting and
processing wood for lumber, paper, and furniture
4. TEMPERATE CONTINENTAL CLIMATES
 Average temperature 10 degree Celsius or
above in the warmest month, -3 degree Celsius
or below in the coldest month
Temperate continental climates are only found
on continents in the Northern Hemisphere
Include:
 Humid Continental
 Subarctic
HUMID CONTINENTAL
Hot, humid summers & cold winters, with moderate
precipitation year round
 Shifting tropical and polar air masses bring
constantly changing weather to humid continental
climates
 Winter – continental polar air masses move south,
bringing bitterly cold weather
 Summer – tropical air masses move north, bringing
heat and humidity
SUBARCTIC CLIMATE
Short, cool summers & long, cold
winters; light precipitation, mainly in
summer
Subarctic climates lie north of the humid
continental climates
5. POLAR CLIMATES
 Average temperature below 10 degree Celsius in
the warmest month
The polar climate is the coldest climate region, and
includes the tundra and ice cap climates.
 Ice cap and tundra climates are found only in the far
north and south, near the North and South poles
 Most polar climates are relatively dry
 Cold air holds little moisture
TUNDRA CLIMATE
Always cold with a short, cool summer – warmest
temperature about 10 degree Celsius
 Stretches across northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia
 Some layers of the tundra are always frozen
 Permanently frozen soil is called permafrost
 Water cannot drain away, so the soil is wet and boggy in summer
 It is too cold in the tundra for trees to grow
 During the short summers the tundra is filled with life
 Mosquitos and other insects
 Mosses, grasses, lichens
 Caribou
 birds
ICE CAP CLIMATE
Always cold, average temperature at or below 0 degree
Celsius
 Found mainly on Greenland and Antarctica
 Average temperatures always at or below freezing
 The land in this region is always covered with ice and
snow
 Intense cold makes the air dry
 Lichens and a few low plants may grow on the rocks
6. HIGHLANDS
Generally cooler & wetter than nearby lowlands;
temperature decreasing with altitude
 Increasing altitude produces climate changes you would
expect with increasing latitude
 Precipitation also increase as air masses carrying moisture
pass over highland area
 Climate on the lower slopes of a mountain range is like that of
the surrounding countryside
 As you go higher up the mountains, temperature becomes
lower and precipitation increases
 Climate higher on the mountain is like that of the subarctic
 Above a certain elevation, called the tree line, temperatures
are too low for trees to grow
 Climate above the tree line is like that of the tundra
 Only low plants, mosses, and lichens can grow there