The main climatic zones of the world: names, table and map. What are the climatic zones in Russia?

The weather in certain corners of our planet is always determined by the climatic zone. These few, but in each hemisphere, this or that natural area has its own characteristics. Now we will look at the main climatic zones of our planet and transitional ones, note their main features and position.

A few common words

Our planet, as is known, consists of land and water. In addition, the two components have a different structure (on land can be mountains, lowlands, hills or deserts, the ocean can have a cold or warm current). That is why the impact that the Sun has on the Earth with the same intensity is completely differently displayed in different areas. Such interaction caused the formation of the main climatic zones of the world and transitional ones, which are located between them. The first have a large area, characterized by stable weather conditions. The latter are stretched by narrow stripes parallel to the equator, and the temperature in their various regions can be very diverse.

Main natural areas

For the first time geographers distinguished the main climatic zones of the planet in the middle of the 19th century, and then they had a predominantly descriptive character. Since then until today there were four: polar, temperate, tropical and equatorial. In addition, it is important to emphasize that now scientists 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, therefore the weather in each of these areas is different. In the north, strangely enough, the climate is milder, in the circumpolar regions even vegetation is found, since in the summer the snow cover comes off. In the south, there are no such phenomena, and the seasonal variations in temperature there are over 60 degrees. Below is a map of the climatic zones of the world, looking at which you can quickly navigate in their whereabouts.

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 River basin, as well as Lake Victoria and the Nile; Most of the Indonesian archipelago. In each of these places a very humid climate can be traced. The annual rainfall here is 3000 mm or more. For this reason, many areas that fall into the zone of equatorial cyclones are covered by bogs. Comparing all the other climatic zones and regions of our world with the equator, we can say with full confidence that this is the wettest zone. It should be noted that in summer rains here happen much more often than in winter. They fall out in the form of short-term and very heavy downpours, the consequences of which dry out in minutes, and the sun again warms the earth. Seasonal temperature fluctuations are not there - throughout the year the thermometer is kept within 28-35 above zero.

Marine Equatorial Climate

A strip that extends along the equator along the ocean is called the zone of dynamic minimum. The pressure here is as low as above the land, which provokes a huge amount of precipitation - over 3500 mm per year. In addition, so damp climatic zones and areas above the waters are characterized by cloudiness and fog. Very thick air masses are formed here because of the fact that the air is filled with moisture, and, in fact, the water surface. The currents are everywhere warm, so that water evaporates very quickly and its natural natural circulation occurs constantly. The temperature regime is kept within the range of +24 - +28 degrees without off-season oscillations.

Tropical zone above the land

At once we will notice that the basic climatic belts of our world strongly differ from each other, and it does not depend on how close they are to each other are located. A striking example of this is the tropics, which, in fact, are not so far from the equator. This natural zone is divided into two parts - North and South. In the first case, it occupies a significant part of Eurasia (Arabia, southern Iran, the extreme points of Europe in the Mediterranean Sea), North Africa, and Central America (mainly Mexico). In the second - it is the territory of some states of South America, the Kalahari desert in Africa and the central part of the mainland Australia. There is a dry and hot climate with very sharp temperature changes. The amount of precipitation a year is 300 mm, cloudiness, fog and rain are extremely rare. Summer is always very hot - over +35 degrees, and in winter the temperature drops to +18. Also, sharply the temperature fluctuates and within a day - the day can be as much as +40, and at night it will be only +20. Very often over the tropics fly monsoons - strong winds that destroy rocks. That's why so many deserts were formed in this zone.

Tropics over the world ocean

The table of climatic zones of the world gives us an opportunity to understand that over the ocean the tropics have slightly different characteristics. It is more humid, but also cooler, rains often occur and winds blow more strongly. The amount of precipitation falling in a year is 500 mm. The average summer temperature is +25 degrees, and the average winter temperature is +15. The peculiarities of the oceanic tropical climate are the currents. Along the western shores of America, Africa and Australia pass cold waters, because here it is always cooler and drier. And the eastern banks are washed by warm waters, and here there is more rain and the air temperature is much higher.

The largest natural zone: the climate is temperate. Features over land

The main climatic zones of the planet can not be imagined without a temperate zone that dominates most of Eurasia and North America. This area is characterized by season changes - winter, spring, summer, autumn, in which the humidity and temperature fluctuate to a considerable degree. The conditionally continental zone is divided into two subtypes:

• Marine temperate climate. These are the 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. Often fogs occur.
• The continental temperate climate. Here the amount of precipitation decreases sharply - approximately 200-500 mm per year. Winter is very severe (-30 - 40 and more) with a constant snow cover, and the summer is hot and dry - up to +40, which is clearly shown in the table of climatic zones of the world. In addition, the further a certain point is from the sea, the drier it is, and the temperature drops there are sharper.

Polar regions of the Earth

High-pressure zones are located in the extreme North and Far South of our planet. In the first case, this is the water area of the Arctic Ocean and all the islands there. In the second case it is Antarctica. The map of the world's climate zones often shows us both zones as identical in their weather conditions. In fact, there is a difference between them. In the North, annual temperature fluctuations are approximately 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 here the frosts are extremely fierce -70 or more, and in summer the thermometer does not rise above zero. A characteristic phenomenon for both poles is the polar day and night. In the summer, the sun does not go beyond the horizon for several months, and in winter, accordingly, does not appear at all.

Transitional climatic zones of the planet

These natural zones are located between the main ones. Despite this, they have their own characteristics, which distinguish them from the general background. As a rule, such transition zones are places where softer weather, normal humidity and moderate winds prevail. Transitional climatic zones were discovered in the late 19th century, their classification remains unchanged to the present day. Their names are known to every schoolboy - subequatorial, subtropical and subpolar. Now we will consider each of them.

Overview of Transitional Natural Zones

• Subequatorial climate. It is characterized by seasonal weather change. In winter, the direction of the wind carries here tropical air masses. Therefore, there is very little precipitation, the air becomes cooler, the clouds dissipate. In summer, the direction of the wind changes, equatorial cyclones enter here. Due to this, there is a huge amount of precipitation - 3000 mm, it becomes very hot.
• Subtropical. Located between the tropics and temperate latitudes. Here the situation is similar. In summer, wind blows from the tropics, due to which it becomes very hot and sunny. In winter, cyclones come from moderate latitudes, it becomes cold, sometimes it snows, but no permanent cover is formed.
• Subpolar climate. The zone of dynamic minimum, with high humidity and very low temperatures - more than -50. It is noteworthy that in the Northern Hemisphere the subpolar zone occupies predominantly dry land, and in the Southern Hemisphere it is a continuous water area in the Antarctic region.

What are the climatic zones in Russia?

Our country is located in the Northern Hemisphere and at the same time in the Eastern Hemisphere. 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 occur in Russia: Arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical. Most part of the country is occupied by a moderate strip. It is conventionally divided into four types: moderately continental, continental, sharply continental and monsoon. The humidity level and temperature differences depend on how deep the geographic object 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 a constant snow cover.

Conclusion

The peculiarities of this or that climate on the planet largely depend on the relief over which it is located. The north of the Earth is mostly covered by land, because here a zone of the so-called dynamic maximum was formed. There is always a small amount of precipitation, strong winds and large 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, the temperature drops are less. Most countries are located in subequatorial latitudes, tropics and subtropics. A moderate strip falls only on a small piece of land in South America. A significant part of the land is occupied by the Antarctic zone, which is located above the homonymous continent.