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Climate classification systems are ways of classifying the world's
climateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time...
s. A climate classification may correlate closely with a
biomeBiome are climatically and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems...
category, as climate is a major influence on biological life in a region. The most popular classification scheme is probably the
Köppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by the Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself notably in 1918 and 1936...
scheme.
Climate classification systems include:
- Aridity index
An aridity index is a numerical indicator of the degree of dryness of the climate at a given location. A number of aridity indices have been proposed ; these indicators serve to identify, locate or delimit regions that suffer from a deficit of available water, a condition that can severely affect...
- Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by the Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself notably in 1918 and 1936...
- Holdridge Life Zone Classification System
The Holdridge life zones system is a global bioclimatic scheme for the classification of land areas. It was first published by Leslie Holdridge in 1947, and updated in 1967. It is a relatively simple system based on few empirical data, giving objective mapping criteria...
.
See also
- Biome
Biome are climatically and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems...
- Ecological land classification
Ecological land classification is defined as being a cartographical delineation of distinct ecological areas, identified by their geology, topography, soils, vegetation, climate conditions, living species, water resources, as well as anthropic factors. These factors are known to control or...
- Ecozone
An ecozone or biogeographic realm is the largest scale biogeographic division of the Earth's surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals...
- Geographical zone
Each of the five main latitude regions of the earth's surface is said to be a geographical zone, divided by the major circles of latitude. The differences between them relate to climate, and the behaviour of the sun...
- Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically-defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...