Global Climate Zones: Equatorial, Tropical, Temperate, and Polar
The Equatorial Climate
The equatorial climate is rainy (wet), and temperatures are uniform throughout the year. The landscape is dominated by the equatorial forest, with lush vegetation and high species diversity.
The Tropical Climate
The tropical climate is warm throughout the year, although there is a dry season in winter and a wet season. The typical landscape is savanna, characterized by the abundance of tall grass, shrubs, and small trees.
Steppe and Desert Climates
Steppe and desert climates are characterized by aridity (lack of vegetation) due to a lack of rainfall (less than 100 mm per year) and high temperatures, considering that these areas are in the zone of subtropical high pressures. Landscape-wise, we find inland deserts (Sahara, Grand Erg Occidental in Algeria) and tropical coastal deserts.
Temperate Climates
Mediterranean, Chinese, oceanic, and continental temperate climates are located in a strip (wide in the Northern Hemisphere and narrow in the Southern Hemisphere), dominated by the presence of westerly winds and the polar front. They are characterized by the existence of more or less marked seasons.
The Mediterranean Climate
The Mediterranean climate is between latitudes 30° and 45° and is characterized by being dry in summer and humid during the winter; temperatures are generally mild. It is seasonally affected by the storms of the polar front and subtropical anticyclones. It is the climate of the countries of the Mediterranean, the SW coast of Australia, California, central Chile, and the SW side of South Africa, with the dominant characteristic being summer drought. The landscape results in sparse forest and shrub formations (Mediterranean forests: oak and pine) as well as degraded steppe landscapes as you lower in latitude.
The Chinese Climate
The Chinese climate is a transitional climate between humid tropical and mid-latitude continental, typical of the eastern facade of the continents and at a lower latitude than the Mediterranean climate. Its characteristic is the abundance of rainfall during the summer (due to the moisture provided by the trade winds). Scenically, denser forests (subtropical wet forest) grow compared to the Mediterranean forests, because the Chinese climate lacks summer drought.
The Oceanic Climate
The oceanic climate occurs on the west facade of the continents and between 45 degrees latitude to the polar circles, in which typical disturbances dominate the polar front, which is outside the influence of the subtropical anticyclone, so there is no marked dry season. Temperatures are moderate due to the softening influence of the sea. This climate is typical of Europe, with the typical landscape of deciduous forests (e.g., oak loses its leaves in winter).
The Continental Climate
The continental climate is found in the interior of the continents at a latitude close to or higher than the oceanic climate. The dry season is winter, due to the presence on the continent of a cold anticyclone that prevents the entry of ocean storms, resulting in low temperatures (-20 ºC and -40 ºC). In summer, the anticyclone disappears, and ocean air enters, bringing rain and moderate temperatures. Scenically, the interior of continents is typically prairie grasses with some scattered trees (cereal-growing areas of Ukraine, central North America, and Pampa in Argentina). Moving up in latitude, the prairie gives way to the great forests of conifers (pine, fir), known as “taiga”.
Cold Weather
Cold weather is typical of polar latitudes and high mountains. For polar climates and cold deserts, the main feature is the absence of summer. Within polar climates, we must distinguish the regions of the continental limits of northern Eurasia and America from the inner regions of Greenland and Antarctica. Thus, in the continental limits of North Eurasia and America, there is heavy rainfall in the form of snow, and the temperatures are very low, resulting in a soil almost always cold, and scenically known as “tundra,” which is a plant formation of moss and herbaceous plants adapted to low temperatures. On the other hand, Antarctica and Greenland are dominated by the glacial landscape of perpetual ice caps on which no type of vegetation can develop. Rainfall is very low (less than 250 mm) and always in the form of snow.
The Arctic Climate
The arctic climate is the mountain equivalent to the polar climate, from the standpoint of rainfall and temperatures, as snow is also perpetual on mountain peaks.