DASK

METEOROLOGY FOR EVERYONE

Prepared by: Dr. Ahmet KILIÇ

CLIMATE

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

Climate is the characteristic condition of the atmosphere near the earth's surface at a certain place on earth. Both air temperature and precipitation over a long period of time are important ingredients of climate.

THREE BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS

GROUP 1 : LOW - LATITUDE

MOIST TROPICAL

WET - DRY TROPICAL

DRY TROPICAL

GROUP 2 : MID - LATITUDE

DRY STEPPE

DRY GRASSLANDS

MOIST FOREST

MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE

GROUP 3: HIGH - LATITUDE

FOREST

TUNDRA

ALPINE

CLIMATE OF TURKEY

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

KÖPPEN CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

The Köppen Climate Classification System is the most widely used for classifying the world's climates. Most classification systems used today are based on the one introduced in 1900 by the Russian-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen. Köppen divided the Earth's surface into climatic regions that generally coincided with world patterns of vegetation and soils.

The Köppen system recognizes five major climate types based on the annual and monthly averages of temperature and precipitation. Each type is designated by a capital letter.

A - Moist Tropical Climates are known for their high temperatures year round and for their large amount of year round rain.

B - Dry Climates are characterized by little rain and a huge daily temperature range. Two subgroups, S - semiarid or steppe, and W - arid or desert, are used with the B climates.

C - In Humid Middle Latitude Climates land/water differences play a large part. These climates have warm,dry summers and cool, wet winters.

D - Continental Climates can be found in the interior regions of large land masses. Total precipitation is not very high and seasonal temperatures vary widely.

E - Cold Climates describe this climate type perfectly. These climates are part of areas where permanent ice and tundra are always present. Only about four months of the year have above freezing temperatures.

Further subgroups are designated by a second, lower case letter which distinguish specific seasonal characteristics of temperature and precipitation.

f - Moist with adequate precipitation in all months and no dry season. This letter usually accompanies the A, C, and D climates.

m - Rainforest climate in spite of short, dry season in monsoon type cycle. This letter only applies to A climates.

s - (High-sun season). There is a dry season in the summer of the respective hemisphere).

w - (Low-sun season). There is a dry season in the winter of the respective hemisphere.

To further denote variations in climate, a third letter was added to the code.

a - Hot summers where the warmest month is over 22°C . These can be found in C and D climates.

b - Warm summer with the warmest month below 22°C . These can also be found in C and D climates.

c - Cool, short summers with less than four months over 10°C in the C and D climates.

d - Very cold winters with the coldest month below -38°C in the D climate only.

h - Dry-hot with a mean annual temperature over 18°C in B climates only.

k - Dry-cold with a mean annual temperature under 18°C in B climates only.

THREE BASIC CLIMATE GROUPS

Three major climate groups show the dominance of special combinations of air-mass source regions.

GROUP I: LOW-LATITUDE CLIMATES:

These climates are controlled by equatorial a tropical air masses.

TROPICAL MOIST CLIMATES (Af) RAINFOREST Rainfall is heavy in all months. The total annual rainfall is often more than 250 cm. (100 in.). There are seasonal differences in monthly rainfall but temperatures of 27°C mostly stay the same. Humidity is between 77 and 88%. High surface heat and humidity cause cumulus clouds to form early in the afternoons almost every day. Average temperature: 18 °C Annual Precipitation: 262 cm. Latitude Range: 10° S to 25 ° N Global Position: Amazon Basin; Congo Basin of equatorial Africa; East Indies, from Sumatra to New Guinea.
WET-DRY TROPICAL CLIMATES (Aw) SAVANNA A seasonal change occurs between wet tropical air masses and dry tropical air masses. As a result, there is a very wet season and a very dry season. Trade winds dominate during the dry season. It gets a little cooler during this dry season but will become very hot just before the wet season. Temperature Range: 16 °C Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm. All months less than 0.25 cm. Latitude Range: 15 ° to 25 ° N and S Global Position: India, Indochina
DRY TROPICAL CLIMATE (Bw) DESERT These desert climates are found in two latitude belts centered on the tropic of cancer and Capricorn, which lie just north and south of the equator. Winds are light, which allows for the evaporation of moisture in the intense heat. This makes for a very dry heat. The dry arid desert is a true desert climate, and covers 12 % of the Earth's land surface. Temperature Range: 16°C Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm. All months less than 0.25 cm. Latitude Range: 15° - 25° N and S. Global Position: south western United
GROUP II: MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES Climates in this zone are affected by two different air-masses. The tropical air-masses are moving towards the poles and the polar air-masses are moving towards the equator. These two air masses are in constant conflict. Either air mass may dominate the area, but neither has exclusive control.
DRY MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES (Bs) STEPPE Characterized by grasslands, this is a semiarid climate. It can be found between the desert climate (Bw) and more humid climates of the A, C, and D groups. If it received less rain, the steppe would be classified as an arid desert. With more rain, it would be classified as a tall grass prairie. Temperature Range: 24° C. Annual Precipitation: less than 10 cm (4 in) in the driest regions to 50 cm in the moister steppes. Latitude Range: 35° - 55° N. Global Position: Western North America (Great Basin, Colum bia Plateau, Great Plains); Eurasian interior, from steppes of eastern Europe to the Gobi Desert and North China.
DRY MIDLATITUDE CLIMATES (BS) GRASSLANDS These dry climates are limited to the interiors of North America and Eurasia. Ocean air masses are blocked by mountain ranges to the west and south. This allows polar air masses to dominate in winter months. In the summer, a local continental air mass is dominant. A small amount of rain falls during this season. Annual temperatures range widely. Summers are warm to hot, but winters are cold. Temperature Range: 31 °. Annual Precipitation: 81 cm. Latitude Range: 30° - 55° N and S Global Position: Western North America (Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, Great Plains); Eurasian interior.
MOIST CONTINENTAL CLIMATE (Cf) DECIDUOUS FOREST This climate is in the polar front zone - the battleground of polar and tropical air masses. Seasonal changes between summer and winter are very large. Daily temperatures also change often. Abundant precipitation falls throughout the year. It is increased in the summer season by invading tropical air masses. Cold winters are caused by polar and arctic masses moving south. Temperature Range: 31 °C Average Annual Precipitation: 81 cm Latitude Range: 30° - 55° N and S (Europe: 45° - 60° N). Global Position: eastern parts of the United States and southern Canada; northern China; Korea; Japan; central and eastern Europe.
MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE (Cs) This is a wet-winter, dry-summer climate. Extremely dry summers are caused by the sinking air of the subtropical highs and may last for up to five months. Plants have adapted to the extreme difference in rainfall and temperature between winter and summer seasons. Sclerophyll plants range in formations from forests, to woodland, and scrub. Eucalyptus forests cover most of the chaparral biome in Australia. Fires occur frequently in Mediterranean climate zones. Temperature Range: 7 °C Annual Precipitation: 42 cm Latitude Range: 30° - 50° N and S Global Position: central and southern California; coastal zones bordering the Mediterranean Sea; coastal Western Australia and South Australia; Chilean coast; Cape Town region of South Africa.
GROUP III: HIGH-LATITUDE CLIMATES Polar and arctic air masses dominate these regions. Canada and Siberia are two air-mass sources which fall into this group. A southern hemisphere counterpart to these continental centers does not exist. Air masses of arctic origin meet polar continental air masses along the 60th and 70th parallels.
BOREAL FOREST CLIMATE ( Dfc) TAIGA This is a continental climate with long, very cold winters, and short, cool summers. This climate is found in the polar air mass region. Very cold air masses from the arctic often move in. The temperature range is larger than any other climate. Precipitation increases during summer months, although annual precipitation is still small. Much of the boreal forest climate is considered humid. However, large areas in western Canada and Siberia receive very little precipitation and fall into the sub-humid or semiarid climate type. Temperature Range: 41 °C, lows; -25 °C, highs; 16 °C Average Annual Precipitation: 31 cm Latitude Range: 50° - 70° N and S. Global Position: central and western Alaska; Canada, from the Yukon Territory to Labrador; Eurasia, from northern Europe across all of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.
TUNDRA CLIMATE (E) TUNDRA The tundra climate is found along arctic coastal areas. Polar and arctic air masses dominate the tundra climate. The winter season is long and severe. A short, mild season exists, but not a true summer season. Moderating ocean winds keep the temperatures from being as severe as interior regions. Temperature Range: -22 °C to 6 °C Average Annual Precipitation: 20 cm Latitude Range: 60° - 75° N. Global Position: arctic zone of North America; Hudson Bay region; Greenland coast; northern Siberia bordering the Arctic Ocean.
HIGHLAND CLIMATE (h) ALPINE Highland climates are cool to cold, found in mountains and high plateaus. Climates change rapidly on mountains, becoming colder the higher the altitude gets. The climate of a highland area is closely related to the climate of the surrounding biome. The highlands have the same seasons and wet and dry periods as the biome they are in. Mountain climates are very important to mid-latitude biomes. They work as water storage areas. Snow is kept back until spring and summer when it is released slowly as water through melting. Temperature Range: -18 °C to 10 °C Average Annual Precipitation: 23 cm Latitude Range: found all over the world Global Position: Rocky Mountain Range in North America, the Andean mountain range in South America, the Alps in Europe, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, the Himalayans in Tibet, Mt. Fuji in Japan.

CLIMATE OF TURKEY

Turkey's diverse regions have different climates, with the weather system on the coasts contrasting with that prevailing in the interior. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts have cool, rainy winters and hot, moderately dry summers. Annual precipitation in those areas varies from 580 to 1,300 millimetres, depending on location. Generally, rainfall is less to the east. The Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of rainfall. The eastern part of that coast averages 1,400 millimetres annually and is the only region of Turkey that receives rainfall throughout the year.

Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the interior of Turkey a continental climate with distinct seasons. The Anatolian Plateau is much more subject to extremes than are the coastal areas. Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of -30°C to -40°C can occur in the mountainous areas in the east, and snow may lie on the ground 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below 1°C. Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures above 30°C. Annual precipitation averages about 400 millimetres, with actual amounts determined by elevation.

The driest regions are the Konya Ovasý and the Malatya Ovasý, where annual rainfall frequently is less than 300 millimetres. May is generally the wettest month and July and August the driest.

The climate of the Anti-Taurus Mountain region of eastern Turkey can be inhospitable. Summers tend to be hot and extremely dry. Winters are bitterly cold with frequent, heavy snowfall. Villages can be isolated for several days during winter storms. Spring and autumn are generally mild, but during both seasons sudden hot and cold spells frequently occur.