From frozen icy tundra near the Arctic Circle to lush tropical rainforests straddling the equator, the Earth's climate changes dramatically with each shift in latitude. In between these polar and tropical extremes, many of the world's major cities experience more moderate conditions within a temperate climate zone. Earth's climate can be divided into three major zones: the coldest polar zone, warm and humid tropical zone, and the moderate temperate zone. The polar climate zones fill the areas within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, extending from Characterized by a short, cool summer and long, bitterly cold winter, the polar zone features frequent snowfall, particularly during the winter months.
The far northern portions of Canada, Europe and Russia fall within this climate zone. Farther north and south, the ice caps that make up Greenland and Antarctica represent a sub-zone of the polar climate region known as the ice cap zone. Within the ice caps, temperatures rarely, if ever, rise above freezing, even during the warmest months of the years.
Extending from the southern edge of the Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere, and the northern edge of the Antarctic Circle to the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere, the temperate climate zone falls between Temperate climate zones experience warm to hot summers and cool winters, with the greatest temperature variations throughout the year of any climate zone. Climate within the temperate regions ranges from the cold, snowy winters of New England to the balmy, moderate weather associated with the Mediterranean or Southern California.
Much of the United States, Europe and the southern half of South America fall within this climate zone. The tropical climate zone stretches from the Tropic of Cancer at This is due to buildings and roads absorbing heat during the day, and giving it off at night. Another thing that can affect a local climate is the wind! It might be that part of a country frequently catches wind from another region — this is called a prevailing wind. Climate scientists take measurements over long periods of time to track patterns in temperature and rainfall.
These help us know what to expect today and in the future but are also a great way to see what changes have happened in the past. Cold enough to have a pet polar bear! The podcast exploring the environment, ecology, oceans and climates on our planet Earth. More to click National Grid - Who, What, and Why? Energy Dilemmas What Next? And as you probably already know, there are lots of different types of climates on Earth. For example, hot regions are normally closest to the equator. The snow-covered peaks of the Chigmit Range during winter.
Cahill Using this information, in the late s and early s a German climate scientist named Wladimir Koppen divided the world's climates into categories. His categories were based on the temperature, the amount of precipitation, and the times of year when precipitation occurs. Today, climate scientists split the Earth into approximately five main types of climates.
They are:. A: Tropical. B: Dry.
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