Koppen Climate Classification UPSC
Subject: Geography Category: The Fundamentals of Physical Geography  Topic: Koeppen’s Climate Classification UPSC
NCERT notes on important topics for the UPSC civil services exam. These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams like banking PO, SSC, state civil services exams, and so on. This article talks about Koeppen’s Climate Classification. It is an important aspect of Geography for the IAS exam.
Koeppen’s Climate Classification (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here
- Koeppen’s Classification of climate is the most commonly used classification of climate.
- This climate classification scheme was developed by Wladimir Peter Koeppen in 1884.
- He recognized a close relationship between the distribution of vegetation and climate.
- The categories are based on the data of annual and monthly averages of temperature and precipitation.
- He selected specific values of temperature and precipitation and related them to the distribution of vegetation and used these values for classifying the climates.
- The Koeppen climate classification system recognizes five major climatic types and each type is designated by a capital letter- A, B, C, D, E, and H.
- The seasons of dryness are indicated by the small letters: f, m, w, and s.
- f -no dry season
- m – Monsoon climate
- w- Winter dry season
- s – Summer dry season
- The small letters a, b, c, and d refer to the degree of severity of temperature.
| Group | Characteristics |
| A-    Tropical | The average temperature of the coldest month is 18° C or higher |
| B-Â Â Â Â Dry Climates | Potential evaporation exceeds precipitation |
| C-    Warm Temperate | The average temperature of the coldest month of the (Mid-latitude) climates years is higher than minus 3°C but below 18°C |
| D-   Cold Snow forest | The average temperature of the coldest month is minus 3° C or below |
| E-    Cold Climates | Cold Climates Average temperature for all months is below 10° C |
| H-Â Â Highlands | Cold due to elevation |
Â
| Group | Type | Letter Code | Characteristics |
| A-Tropical Humid Climate | Tropical Wet
Tropical Monsoon Tropical wet and dry |
Af
Am Aw |
No dry season
Monsoonal, Short dry season Winter dry season |
| B-Dry Climate | Subtropical Steppe
Subtropical Desert Mid-latitude Steppe Mid-latitude Desert |
BSh
BWh BSk BWk |
Low-latitude semi-arid or dry
Low-latitude arid or dry Mid-latitude semi-arid or dry Mid-latitude arid or dry |
| C-Warm temperate Climates | Humid subtropical
Mediterranean Marine west coast |
Cfa
Cs Cfb |
No dry season
Dry hot summer No dry season, warm and cool summer |
| D- Cold Snow-forest Climates | Humid Continental Subarctic | Df
Dw |
No dry season, severe winter
Winter dry and very severe |
| E-Cold climates | Tundra
Polar ice cap |
ET
EF |
No true summer
Perennial ice |
| H-highland | Highland | H | Highland with snow cover |
Koeppen’s Climate Classification (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here
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Also, See:
| Koeppen’s Climate Classification- Group A Climates |
| Koeppen’s Climate Classification- Group B Climates |
| Koeppen’s Climate Classification- Group C Climates |
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