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Temperate climate
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"Temperate" and "Temperateness" redirect here. For the usage of the term in virology, see Temperateness (virology).
For the history of the term, see geographical zone.
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The different geographical zones of the world. The temperate zones span from either north or south of the tropics (highlighted in pink) to the polar circles.
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In geography, the temperate or tepid climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes, which span between the tropics and the polar regions.[1] These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout the year and more distinct seasonal changes compared to tropical climates, where such variations are often small.
In the Köppen climate classification, a climate is termed "temperate" when the coldest month has a mean temperature above -3 C (26.6 F) but below 18 C (64.4 F). Later climate classifications and updates redefined this broad temperate zone into smaller zones to better fit actual climate and vegetation zones (see below).[2][3]
Contents
[hide]
1 Zones and climates
1.1 Mediterranean Climates
1.2 Oceanic Climates
1.3 Subtropical Highland climates
1.4 Continental Climates
1.5 Boreal Climate
2 Human Aspects
2.1 Demography, Fauna and Flora
2.2 Agriculture
2.3 Urbanization
3 Misconceptions
4 See also
5 References
Zones and climates[edit]
The north temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Cancer (approximately 23.5° north latitude) to the Arctic Circle (approximately 66.5° north latitude). The south temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Capricorn (approximately 23.5° south latitude) to the Antarctic Circle (at approximately 66.5° south latitude).[4][5]
In some climate classifications, the temperate zone is often divided into several smaller climate zones, based on monthly temperatures, the coldest month, and rainfall. These include humid subtropical climate, Mediterranean climate, oceanic, and continental climate.
Subtropical Climates
Subtropical climates are generally located between 23.5° and 35.0° north or south latitude on the eastern or leeward sides of landmasses. This climate has long, generally hot, summers and short, mild winters, with annual rainfall often concentrated in the warmest part of the year. These climates may occur in southern Asia, the southeastern United States, parts of eastern Australia, and in eastern coastal South America.
Mediterranean Climates[edit]
Mediterranean climates occur generally between 30° and 42° north and south latitude, on the western sides of landmasses. This climate has long hot summers and short mild winters; however, seasonal rainfall is the opposite of that of the subtropical humid type, with a winter or cool season rainfall peak being typical, and summer as drier season. These climates occur near the rimlands of the Mediterranean Sea, in western and southern Australia, in California and the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in southwestern South America, and in the southernmost areas of South Africa.
Oceanic Climates[edit]
The Oceanic climates occur in the higher middle latitudes, between 45° and 60° north and south latitude. They are created by the onshore flow from the cool high latitude oceans to their west. This causes the climate to have cool summers and cool (but not cold) winters. These climates are frequently cloudy. Annual rainfall is spread throughout the entire year. Regions with this climate include Western Europe, northwestern North America, southeastern and southwestern South America, southeastern Australia and parts of New Zealand.
Subtropical Highland climates[edit]
The subtropical highland variety of the oceanic climate exists in elevated portions of the world that are within either the tropics or subtropics, though it is typically found in mountainous locations in some tropical countries. Despite the latitude, the higher altitudes of these regions mean that the climate tends to share characteristics with oceanic climates, though it also tends to experience noticeably drier weather during the lower-sun "winter" season. It mainly occurs in elevated areas of Subsaharan Africa and South America, on the Andes Mountains and on the Brazilian Highlands at the southern and southeastern portions of the country, and some mountainous areas across Southeast Asia and Southern Europe
Continental Climates[edit]
The Continental climates occur in middle latitudes, between 40° and 65°. These climates are normally inland or on leeward sides of landmasses. They feature warm to hot summers and cold winters, with a large interseasonal temperature variation. Regions with this climate include northern temperate Asia, the northern United States, southern Canada, and parts of northeastern Europe.
Boreal Climate[edit]
Boreal Climate or Subactic Climate is a climate characterised by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates.
Human Aspects[edit]
Demography, Fauna and Flora[edit]
The vast majority of the world's human population resides in temperate zones, especially in the northern hemisphere, due to its greater mass of land.[6] The biggest described number in temperate region in the world is found in southern Africa, where some 24,000 taxa (species and infraspecific taxa) have been described, but the native fauna and flora of this region does not have much cultural importance for the majority of the human population of the world that lives in Temperate Zones and that live in the Northern Hemisphere, only environmental importance.[7]
Agriculture[edit]
Farming is a large-scale practice in the temperate regions (except for Boreal/Subarctic regions) due to the plentiful rainfall and warm summers, because most agricultural activity occurs in the spring and summer, cold winters have a small effect on agricultural production. Extreme winters or summers have a huge impact on the productivity of agriculture.[8]
Urbanization[edit]
Temperate regions have the majority of the world's population, which leads to large cities. There are a couple factors why the climate of large city landscapes differs from the climate of rural areas. One factor is the strength of the absorption rate of builds and asphalt, which is higher than natural land. The other large factor is the burning of fossil fuels from buildings and vehicles. These factors have led to the average climate of cities to be warmer than surrounding areas.[8]
Misconceptions[edit]
"Temperate Climate" refers to climates between Polar and Tropical. However, there is a gradual change from polar to tropical climates across the middle latitude temperate zones. Normally the northern portions of the temperate zone feature Boreal, Continental, and Oceanic climate climates, while the southern portions of the temperate zone are often Mediterranean and Humid Subtropical climates. These different climates all fall within the temperate zone which has a basic definition as being any climate with a with a mean temperature above -3 C [26.6 F] but below 18 C [64.4 F])in the coldest month. Obviously winter temperatures will be more mild in southerly portions and colder in the more northerly portions of the temperate zone.
From a floristic standpoint, each of these climate zones have generally temperate vegetation. There is however, an obvious change in flora from the far northern portions of the temperate zone (Boreal) to the far southern portion (humid subtropical). Pines and conifers are endemic and more abundant in the northern portion of the temperate, while palms may be endemic to far southern portions of the temperate zone. Along with this, the Humid Suptropical climate may be wrongly separated from the Temperate group of climates, and further associated with the Tropical climates, much because of its name, temperatures and the vegetation found in Subtropical zones which can be somewhat similar to that of Tropical regions (For instance the Atlantic Forest of Brazil is spread across both Temperate and Tropical zones of the country). Additionally, both temperate and tropical species can be found side by side in the far southern portions of the temperate zone (for example in central Florida), while subarctic species might be found growing in northern portions of the continental zone (for example in Northwest Europe).
See also[edit]
Geographical zone
Habitat (ecology)
Köppen climate classification
Middle latitudes
Polar circle
Subtropics
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Weather & Climate Change: Climates around the world". Education Scotland.
Jump up ^ "Latitude & Climate Zones". The Environmental Literacy Council. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Patterns of Climate". Retrieved 15 July 2017.
Jump up ^ McColl, R. W. (2005). Encyclopedia of World Geography, Volume 1. (Facts on File Library of World Geography). New York: Facts on File. p. 919. ISBN 0-816-05786-9.
Jump up ^ "Solar Illumination: Seasonal and Diurnal Patterns". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
Jump up ^ Cohen, Joel E.; Christopher Small (November 24, 1998). "Hypsographic demography: The distribution of human population by altitude". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 95. Washington, D.C.: The Academy. pp. 14009–14014. PMC 24316  .
Jump up ^ Germishuizen, G.; Meyer, N. L. (2003). "Plants of southern Africa: An annotated checklist". Strelitzia. 14: 1–1231. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Burroughs, William J (1999). The Climate Revealed. New York: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. p. 114. ISBN 0 521 77081 5.
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Climate types under the Köppen climate classification
Class A
Tropical rainforest (Af)
Tropical monsoon (Am)
Tropical savanna (Aw, As)
Class B
Desert (BWh, BWk, BWn)
Semi-arid (BSh, BSk, BSn)
Class C
Humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa)
Oceanic (Cfb, Cwb, Cfc, Cwc)
Mediterranean (Csa, Csb, Csc)
Class D
Humid continental (Dfa, Dwa, Dfb, Dwb, Dsa, Dsb)
Subarctic (Dfc, Dwc, Dfd, Dwd, Dsc, Dsd)
Class E
Tundra (ET)
Ice cap (EF)
Alpine (ET, EF)
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