The weather in certain parts of our planet is always determined by the climatic zone. There are few of them, but in each hemisphere this or that natural area has its own characteristics. Now we will consider the main climatic zones of our planet and transitional ones, note their main features and position.
A few common words
Our planet, as you know, consists of land and water. In addition, these two components have a different structure (on land there may be mountains, lowlands, hills or deserts, the ocean may have a cold or warm current). That is why the impact that the Sun has on the Earth with the same intensity is displayed in completely different ways in different areas. Such interaction was the reason that the main climatic zones of the world and the transitional ones that are between them were formed. The former have a large area and are characterized by stable weather conditions. The second stretches in narrow stripes parallel to the equator, and the temperature in differenttheir areas can be the most diverse.
Main Natural Areas
For the first time, geographers identified the main climatic zones of the planet in the middle of the 19th century, and then they were mostly descriptive. From then until today there were four of them: polar, temperate, tropical and equatorial. In addition, it is important to highlight that scientists now divide the polar climate into two different zones - the Arctic and the Antarctic. The fact is that the poles of the Earth are not symmetrical, and therefore the weather in each of these areas is different. In the north, oddly enough, the climate is milder, in the subpolar regions even vegetation is found, as the snow cover melts in summer. In the south, you will not find such phenomena, and seasonal temperature fluctuations there go off scale for 60 degrees. Below is a map of the world's climatic zones, looking at which you can quickly navigate in their location.
Equatorial climate over land
The location of this natural area is the northern part of South America; the countries of Central Africa and the Congo Basin, as well as Lake Victoria and the upper Nile; most of the Indonesian archipelago. Each of these places has a very humid climate. The annual rainfall here is 3000 mm or more. For this reason, many areas that fall into the zone of equatorial cyclones are covered with swamps. Comparing all other climatic zones and regions of our world with the equator, we can state with full confidence thatthis is the wettest area. It should be noted that in summer it rains here much more often than in winter. They fall in the form of short-term and very heavy downpours, the effects of which dry up in minutes, and the sun warms the earth again. There are no seasonal fluctuations in temperature here - throughout the year, the thermometer stays between 28-35 above zero.
Marine equatorial climate
The strip that stretches along the equator across the ocean is called the zone of dynamic minimum. The pressure here is as low as over land, which provokes a huge amount of precipitation - over 3500 mm per year. Among other things, such humid climatic zones and areas above the waters are characterized by clouds and fogs. Very dense air masses are formed here due to the fact that both the air and, in fact, the water surface are filled with moisture. The currents are warm everywhere, due to which the water evaporates very quickly and its natural natural circulation occurs constantly. The temperature regime is kept within +24 - +28 degrees without seasonal fluctuations.
Tropical zone over land
We note right away that the main climatic zones of our world are very different from each other, and this does not depend on how close they are to each other. A striking example of this is the tropics, which, in fact, are not so far from the equator. This natural area is divided into two parts - North and South. In the first case, it occupies a significant part of Eurasia (Arabia, Southpart of Iran, the extreme points of Europe in the Mediterranean Sea), North Africa, as well as Central America (mainly Mexico). In the second, these are the territories of some states of South America, the Kalahari Desert in Africa and the central part of mainland Australia. A dry and hot climate reigns here with very sharp temperature changes. The amount of precipitation per year is 300 mm, clouds, fogs and rains are extremely rare. Summer is always very hot - over +35 degrees, and in winter the temperature drops to +18. The temperature fluctuates just as sharply within the day - during the day it can be as much as +40, and at night it will be only +20. Very often, monsoons fly over the tropics - strong winds that destroy rocks. That is why so many deserts formed in this zone.
Tropics over the oceans
The table of climatic zones of the world gives us the opportunity to understand that over the ocean, the tropics have slightly different characteristics. Here it is more humid, but also cooler, it rains more often and the winds blow more strongly. The amount of precipitation falling per year is 500 mm. The average summer temperature is +25 degrees, and the average winter temperature is +15. Currents are also considered a feature of the oceanic tropical climate. Cold waters pass along the western coasts of America, Africa and Australia, therefore it is always cooler and drier here. And the eastern shores are washed by warm waters, and here there is more rain and the air temperature is much higher.
The largest natural area:the climate is temperate. Features over land
The main climatic zones of the planet cannot be imagined without the temperate zone that dominates most of Eurasia and North America. This area is characterized by seasonal changes - winter, spring, summer, autumn, during which humidity and temperature fluctuate to a large extent. Conventionally, the continental zone is divided into two subtypes:
- Maritime temperate climate. These are zones located in the West of Europe and in the West of North America. Summer here is cool - no more than +23, and winter is warm - no lower than +7. The amount of precipitation can reach 2000 mm, while they fall evenly throughout the year. Fog occurs frequently.
- Continental temperate climate. Here the amount of precipitation decreases sharply - about 200-500 mm per year. Winter is very severe (-30 - 40 and more) with constant snow cover, and summer is hot and dry - up to +40, which is clearly shown by the table of climatic zones of the world. In addition, the farther a certain point is located from the sea, the drier it is, and the temperature changes there are more dramatic.
Polar regions of the Earth
High pressure zones are located in the Far North and the Far South of our planet. In the first case, this is the water area of the Arctic Ocean and all the islands located there. The second is Antarctica. A map of the climatic zones of the world often shows us both zones as areas identical in their weather conditions. In fact, there is a difference between them. In the North, annual fluctuationstemperatures are around 40 degrees. In winter, the temperature drops to -50, and in summer it warms up to +5. In Antarctica, the temperature difference is as much as 60 degrees, in winter the frosts are extremely severe -70 or more, and in summer the thermometer does not rise above zero. A characteristic phenomenon for both poles is polar day and night. In summer, the sun does not go below the horizon for several months, and in winter, accordingly, it does not appear at all.
Transitional climatic zones of the planet
These natural areas are located between the main ones. Despite this, they have their own characteristics that distinguish them from the general background. As a rule, such transition zones are places where milder weather, normal humidity and moderate winds prevail. Transitional climatic zones were discovered at the end of the 19th century, their classification remains unchanged to this day. Every schoolchild knows their names - subequatorial, subtropical and subpolar. We will now look at each of them.
Brief overview of natural transition zones
- Subequatorial climate. Characterized by seasonal change of weather. In winter, the direction of the wind brings tropical air masses here. Therefore, there is very little precipitation, the air becomes cooler, the clouds dissipate. In summer, the direction of the wind changes, equatorial cyclones fall here. Due to this, a huge amount of precipitation falls - 3000 mm, it becomes very hot.
- Subtropical. Located between the tropics and temperate latitudes. Here the situation is similar. In summer the winds blowtropics, due to which it becomes very hot and sunny. In winter, cyclones arrive from temperate latitudes, it gets cold, sometimes it snows, but there is no permanent cover.
- Subpolar climate. Dynamic minimum zone, with high humidity and very low temperatures - more than -50. It is noteworthy that in the Northern Hemisphere the subpolar zone occupies mainly land, and in the Southern Hemisphere it is a continuous water area in the region of Antarctica.
What are the climatic zones in Russia?
Our country is located in the Northern Hemisphere and at the same time in the Eastern. The climate here begins to form in the waters of the Arctic Ocean and ends on the shores of the Black Sea, in the Caucasus. Now we list all the names of the main climatic zones that are found in Russia: arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical. Most of the country's territory is occupied by a temperate zone. It is conditionally divided into four types: moderately continental, continental, sharply continental and monsoonal. Humidity levels and temperature fluctuations depend on how deep a geographic feature is in the continent. In general, the state is characterized by the presence of all four seasons, hot and dry summers and cold winters, with constant snow cover.
Conclusion
Features of a particular climate on the planet largely depend on the relief over which it is located. The north of the Earth is mostly covered by land, therefore a zone of the so-called dynamic maximum has formed here. There is always a small amount of precipitation, strong winds andlarge seasonal temperature fluctuations. The main climatic zones of the northern hemisphere are the polar zone, temperate, and tropical. In the south of the planet, most of the territory is occupied by water. The climate here is always more humid, temperature drops are less. Most of the countries here are located in subequatorial latitudes, tropics and subtropics. The temperate zone covers only a small piece of land in South America. Also, a significant part of the land is occupied by the Antarctic zone, which is located above the mainland of the same name.
