Climate Zones: The 5 Major Climate Zones

A climate zone is a belt-shaped area of the earth with similar weather patterns. Factors that determine the average weather in a climate zone include average temperatures and annual precipitation. Climate zones encircle the planet longitudinally, or from east to west, and circle around the arctic regions in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.

Climate zones help scientists understand the biomes, or ecosystems, that exist in different climates, allowing researchers to use climate zone maps to determine how global warming and climate change impact ecosystems. Climate zones also assist in agriculture by determining what crops grow best in certain climates.

There are five climate zones in the Köppen climate classification system—the most widely used method of classifying climatic conditions on a global scale—with subcategories within those zones. Climatologist Wladimir Köppen developed this system to classify different climate regions north and south of the equator using information like air temperature and precipitation rates.

The climate types classified by the Köppen climate classification system are:

1. 1. Tropical: Average temperatures exceed sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit year-round in tropical climates, and precipitation exceeds fifty-nine inches each year. Subcategories of the tropical climate zone include tropical rainforests, where more than two inches of rain falls each month, and tropical monsoon zones which experience significant rainfall even during the dry season.
2. 2. Dry: Subtropical climates, or dry climates, experience high temperatures with little precipitation or cloud cover to reduce the heat during dry summers. As a result, dry climates include most of the world’s deserts. Dry climates also experience mild winters with cooler temperatures. Subcategories include arid and semi-arid climates.
3. 3. Temperate: Temperatures are much cooler in temperate zones than in dry climates: The average temperature of the coldest month is between twenty-seven and thirty-two degrees, while the warmest month averages above fifty degrees. Temperate climates also experience mild winters and more humidity and regular thunderstorms during the summer. Temperate zones have several subcategories, including humid subtropical climates and Mediterranean climates.
   
4. 4. Continental: Zones with continental climates have a diverse array of weather conditions: both warm and cool summers, humid periods, and cold winter temperatures that dip below negative thirty degrees Fahrenheit in some regions. Subcategories of continental areas include subarctic zones.
5. 5. Polar: Cold temperatures are persistent in polar climates. The warmest months are below fifty degrees Fahrenheit, with areas remaining below zero for all twelve months of the year. Subcategories on the polar zone include tundra and ice cap areas.

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