World climates

Our next topic in EM is global climates, so we started to look information about them. I’ll describe them below.

Hot deserts:  According to Koppen’s classification of climates, hot deserts are from group B, arid and semiarid climates. In deserts, little precipitation occurs and living conditions are hostile for animal and plant life. Due to this factor, only shrubs grow. This type of climate is found in the Sahara, Saudi Arabia, large parts of Iran and Iraq, northwest India, California, South Africa and Australia. They are generally hot, sunny and dry year-round and temperatures go from 50°C during the day to below 0°C during the night.

Tundra: It belongs to the group E, polar and alpine climates, in Koppen’s classification. It is the coldest of all biomes. It has low temperatures; short growing seasons, little precipitations and it soil is poor in nutrients. There is low biotic diversity. Tundra is located in most of Greenland, parts of Alaska, northern Canada, and northern Russia. We can find two types of tundra: arctic and alpine. The arctic tundra is similar to deserts due to its cold conditions. The growing season ranges from 50 and 60 days. The average winter temperature is -34°C and the average in summer temperature is between 3-12°C. The alpine tundra is located where trees can’t grow. The growing seasons for pants is of 180 days. Night temperatures are below freezing. Plants from the alpine are tussocks grasses, dwarf trees, small-leafed shrubs, and heaths. Animals present in this climate are mountain goats, sheep, elk, beetles, grasshoppers and butterflies.

Cold: They are the coldest regions on Earth. They are also cold “eternal ice”. They are from group E, polar and alpine climates in Koppen’s classification. Temperatures are lower than 10°C every month. Sun rises for long hours in summer and few hours in winter. Cold climate consists in treeless tundra, glaciers, or a permanent or semi-permanent layer of ice. It has cool summers and very cold winters.  It is located in Antarctica, Greenland, Scandinavia, Siberia, Canada, Alaska and South America. Some plants growing in cold climates are: Bearberry, Dandelion and Iceland moss.  Precipitation falls mostly as snow.

Equatorial: In Koppen’s classification they belong to group A: tropical/megathermal climates. These regions usually experience 2000 mm of rainfall or more in a year. They are located around the equator and cover wide areas in South America, Central Africa and South-East Asia. The maximum temperatures are about 32°C and minimum temperatures are about 23°C. Trees in these areas are hardwood, durable and heavy, some examples are Seraya and Ebony.

                                                                                                                  

Savanna: It is a wet/dry climate that belongs to group A tropical/megathermal climates in Koppen’s classification. The savanna climate has a temperature range of 20° - 30° C. In the winter, it is usually about 20° - 25° C. In the summer the temperature ranges from 78° to 86° F (25° - 30° C). There is an annual precipitation of 10 to 30 inches of rain. From December to February it doesn’t rain. Savanna’s animals include giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, kangaroos, mice, moles, gophers, ground squirrels, snakes, worms, termites, beetles, lions, leopards, hyenas, and elephants.

 

Monsoon: According to Kopper’s classification monsoon climate belongs to Group A: Tropical/megathermal climates.  The annual temperature is 27°C.  It’s found in South and Central America. However, there are sections of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa (particularly West and Central Africa), the Caribbean, and North America that also feature this climate. Unlike tropical savanna climates however, a tropical monsoon climate's driest month sees less than 60 mm of precipitation.