Introduction:-

Climate is an average weather condition at a specific place over a long period of time (30- 35
years and more), including absolute extremes of temperature, precipitation etc. Factors such
as latitude, altitude, prevailing winds, ocean currents, maritime and continental situations
exercise direct influence in determining the climate. The classification of climates of the
world is done in order to understand how the different climatic elements form combination in
different parts of the world. Although, there are several ways in which the climates of the
world can be classified, the lesson is devoted to discuss the Koppen's classification of world
climates which is most widely used. In this lesson we will study the measurements, design
and combinations of major, main and sub groups of the world climates as developed by
Koppen.

Koppen Climate Classification System

Our planet Earth is very diverse in nature. There are regions that are completely distinct in
terms of their various features such as geographical conditions, weather, etc. It is due to these
distinct geographical conditions that play a major role in the presence of different types of
climates that persist all over the world.

There are various climates in our world, which are what prevail in a specific region for a
longer period of time. Now, when we talk about the types of climates, there are majorly two.
One is Tropical and another is Temperate.

Koppen Classification of Climate

Wladimir Köppen (1846 – 1940), born in Russia, was a great German Climatologist as well
as an amateur botanist. He gave a detailed climate classification and his first-ever
classification came in 1918 and continued to refine and modify it. The last modified version
of his classification was published in 1936. This classification was done with the usage of
different kinds of symbols which represent different meanings and climates. Majorly, the
climate classification was done into five major groups along with one more type which was
considered a special category.
The five major climate groups are represented by capital letters i.e. A, B, C, D, and E. Among
these major groups, only B belongs to the dry type of climate whereas others are humid
climate groups. These major groups are further divided into subtypes on the basis of their
features like temperature and precipitation or level of dryness or coldness, etc.

Symbol 'a' means hot summer in which average temperature is above 22°C, 'c' refers to cool
summer where the average temperature is below 22°C, 'f' means no dry season, 'w' represents
a dry season in winters and 's' represents a dry season in summer, 'g' refers to Ganges' type of
temperature of annual march when the hottest month comes before the Solstice as well as the
summer rainfall, 'h' means where the annual average temperature is less than 18°C, and 'm'
means monsoon. Besides these, Capital 'S' and 'W' are used for the further classification of
the dry season in which 'S' means semi-arid regions or steppe whereas 'W' represents arid or
desert regions. For further division of polar climate, capital 'T' and 'F' symbols are used. In
which 'T' means Tundra and 'F' means Icecap. Besides all these, Capital ‘H’ represents the
highlands.

Koppen Climate Map

Here in this world map, you can see the distribution of different types of climate as per
Koppen Climate Classification.
The detailed classification of different kinds of climate is mentioned in the diagram above.

A. Tropical Moist Climates

Different kinds of sub climates can be found under this category such as Af, Am, and Aw.

This type of climate can be found in 15° to 25° in the north and south of the equator.

In this type of climate, the temperature always remains above 18°C.

The annual precipitation here is generally above 1500 mm.

Af represents the Tropical wet Climate. Here, in tropical regions usually, the tropical climate
is there along with precipitation all year round. Monthly variations in temperature of around
or less than 3°C can be seen. Here, extreme high humidity is found along with cumulus and
cumulonimbus clouds which form every day which leads to high precipitation.

Am represents the Tropical monsoon climate. Here, annual precipitation is much similar to
that of Af, but mostly occurs within 7 to 9 of the warmest months and the rest of the years
usually less rainfall occurs here.

Aw represents Tropical wet and dry climate or we can say Savannah type of climate.
Extended dry season can be seen in the winters whereas, in the wet season, precipitation
occurs less than 1000 mm and usually in the summers.

B. Dry Climates
This type of climate is more dependent upon the nature of the precipitation rather than the
temperature and here evaporation, as well as transpiration, exceeds the total precipitation.

This type of climate can be found in the range of 20° to 35° from the north and south of the
equator.

It has further four subdivisions as BSh, BWh, BSk, and BWk. Basically, two major types here
are BS and BW. Only ‘k’ and ‘h’ are suffixed attached to define the aridness or location.

BW is a dry arid climate and is considered the true desert climate which covers about 12% of
the total land of the Earth.

BS represents the semi-arid type of climate which are grasslands regions and which covers
almost 14% of the land of the Earth. These regions receive more rainfall than the BW type of
climatic regions.

C. Moist SubTropical Mid-latitude Climate

In simple words, we can say that these are warm temperate climate regions where warm and
humid summer and mild winters can be seen.

This type of climate can be found in the ranges of 30° to 50° in the north and south of the
Equator and mainly can be found at the eastern or western sides of the continents.

Convective thunderstorms can be seen in the summertime whereas mid-latitude cyclones can
be seen in the winters.

It can also be sub-classified into various categories.

Cfa is a humid subtropical climate where hot and humid summers can be found with
thunderstorms whereas winters are mild and precipitation usually occurs because of the
cyclones.

Cfb is an example of marine climate that is found on the western edges or coasts of the
continents. Here, hot and dry summer can be found with largely humid conditions whereas
winters are mild with heavy precipitation.

Cs is an example of a Mediterranean type of climate where precipitation usually occurs in

winters because of mid-latitude cyclones.

D. Moist Continental Mid-latitude Climates

In this type of climate, summers are usually warm but also can be cool whereas winters are
usually cold.

This type of climate can be found towards the poles or at the subtropical mid-latitude
climates or C-climates.

The average temperature is only above 10°C during the warmest months whereas, in coldest
months, it can be less than minus 3° C.
Here, winters are very cold along with strong winds as well as snowstorms that come from
the Continental polar regions or the Arctic air masses.

It has also further subdivisions which include major three types i.e. Dw which means dry
winters, Ds which means dry summers, and Df represents precipitation all around the year.

E. Polar Climate
Here, in these types of climatic regions, the temperature is too low.

Even, in the warmest months of the year as well, the temperature is less than 10°C.

It usually occurs in the coastal areas of the northern regions of Asia, North America, Europe,
Greenland, and Antarctica.

It is also further divided into various types such as ET and EF. ET refers to Polar Tundra
where the soil in the form of permafrost can be seen and EF refers to Polar Ice Caps that are
permanently frozen.

Climate in Nigeria

Nigeria is characterized by three distinct climate zones, a tropical monsoon climate in the
south, a tropical savannah climate for most of the central regions, and a Sahelian hot and
semi-arid climate in the north of the country. This leads to a gradient of declining
precipitation amounts from south to north. The southern regions experience strong rainfall
events during the rainy season from March to October with annual rainfall amounts, usually
above 2,000 mm, and can reach 4,000 mm and more in the Niger Delta.

The central regions are governed by a well-defined single rainy season (April to September)
and dry season (December to March). The dry season is influenced by the Harmattan wind
from the Sahara. Coastal areas experience a short drier season with most rain occurring over
March to October. Annual rainfall can reach up to about 1200 mm. In the north, rain only
falls from June to September in the range of 500 mm to 750 mm. The rest of the year is hot
and dry. Northern areas have a high degree of annual variation in its rainfall regime, which
results in flooding and droughts.

The most significant temperature difference in Nigeria is between the coastal areas and its
interior as well as between the plateau and the lowlands. On the plateau, the mean annual
temperature varies between 21°C and 27°C whereas in the interior lowlands, temperatures are
generally over 27°C. The coastal fringes have lower means than the interior lowlands.
Seasonal mean temperatures are consistently over 20 ℃ throughout the country and diurnal
variations are more pronounced than seasonal ones. Highest temperatures occur during the
dry season, and vary little from the coast to inland areas. Similar to rainfall, the relative
humidity in Nigeria decreases from the south to the north, with an annual mean of 88%
around Lagos.

Mean annual temperature for Nigeria is 26.9°C , with average monthly temperatures ranging
between 24°C (December, January) and 30°C (April). Mean annual precipitation is 1,165.0
mm. Rainfall is experienced throughout the year in Nigeria, with most significant rainfall
occurring from April to October and with minimal rainfall occurring November to March.

CLIMATES IN NIGERIA

1. THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST CLIMATE OR THE EQUATORIAL MONSOON

This type of climate is found in the southern part of Nigeria. This climate is influenced by the
monsoons originating from the South Atlantic Ocean, which is brought into the country by
the (maritime tropical) MT airmass, a warm moist sea to land seasonal wind. Its warmth and
high humidity gives it a strong tendency to ascend and produce copious rainfall, which is a
result of the condensation of water vapour in the rapidly rising air.

The Tropical rainforest climate has a very small temperature range. The temperature ranges
are almost constant throughout the year, for example, Warri town in the southern part of
Nigeria, records a maximum of 28 °C (82.4 °F) for its hottest month while its lowest
temperature is 26 °C (78.8 °F) in its coldest month. The temperature difference of Warri town
is not more than 2 °C (5 °F).
The southern part of Nigeria experiences heavy and abundant rainfall. These storms are
usually convectional in nature due to the regions proximity, to the equatorial belt. The annual
rainfall received in this region is very high, usually above the 2,000 mm (78.7 in) rainfall
totals giving for tropical rainforest climates worldwide. Over 4,000 mm (157.5 in) of rainfall
is received in the coastal region of Nigeria around the Niger delta area. Bonny town found in
the coastal region of the Niger delta area in southern Nigeria receives well over 4,000 mm
(157.5 in) of rainfall annually. The rest of the southeast receives between 2,000 and 3,000
mm (118.1 in) of rain per year.

The southern region of Nigeria experiences a double rainfall maxima characterised by two
high rainfall peaks, with a short dry season and a longer dry season falling between and after
each peaks. The first rainy season begins around March and last to the end of July with a
peak in June, this rainy season is followed by a short dry break in August known as the
August break which is a short dry season lasting for two to three weeks in August. This break
is broken by the Short rainy season starting around early September and lasting to Mid
October with a peak period at the end of September. The ending of the short rainy season in
October is followed by Long Dry Season. This period starts from late October and lasts till
early March with peak dry conditions between early December and late February.

2. TROPICAL SAVANNA CLIMATE OR TROPICAL WET AND DRY CLIMATE

This climate covers most of Western Nigeria to central Nigeria beginning from the Tropical
rainforest climate boundary in southern Nigeria to Abuja, the central part of Nigeria, where it
exerts enormous influence on the region.

The tropical savanna climate exhibits a well marked Rainy season and a dry season with a
single peak known as the summer maximum due to its distance from the equator.
Temperatures are above 18 °C (64 °F) throughout the year. Abuja, Nigeria's capital city
found in central Nigeria, has a temperature range of 18.45 °C (65.21 °F) to 36.05 °C (96.89
°F), and an annual rainfall of about 1,500 mm (59.1 in) with a single rainfall maxima in
September.
The single Dry season experienced in this climate, the tropical savanna climate in central
Nigeria beginning from December to march, is hot and dry with the Harmattan wind, a
continental tropical(CT) airmass laden with dust from the Sahara Desert prevailing
throughout this period.

With the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) swinging northward over West Africa from
the southern hemisphere in April, heavy showers coming from pre-monsoonal convective
clouds mainly in the form of squall lines also known as the north easterlies formed mainly as
a result of the interactions of the two dominant airmasses in Nigeria known as the Maritime
tropical(south

westerlies) and the Continental tropical(north easterlies), begins in central Nigeria while the
Monsoons from the south Atlantic ocean arrives in central Nigeria in July bringing with it
high humidity, heavy cloud cover and heavy rainfall which can be daily occurrence lasting
till September when the monsoons gradually begin retreating southward to the southern part
of Nigeria. Rainfall totals in central Nigeria varies from 1,100 mm (43.3 in) in the lowlands
of the river Niger Benue trough to over 2,000 mm (78.7 in) along the south western
escarpment of the Jos Plateau and the southern Kaduna highlands which extends into
Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory, just north of Abuja city, due to orographic activities on
the highlands in central Nigeria.

3. THE SAHEL CLIMATE OR TROPICAL DRY CLIMATE

This type of climate is predominant in the northern part of Nigeria. Annual rainfall totals are
lower compared to the southern and central part of Nigeria. Rainy season in the northern part
of Nigeria last for only three to four months (June–September). The rest of the year is hot and
dry with temperatures climbing as high as 40 °C (104.0 °F).

4. ALPINE CLIMATE OR HIGHLAND CLIMATE OR MOUNTAIN CLIMATE

Alpine climate are found on highlands regions in Nigeria. Highlands with the alpine climate
in Nigeria are well over 1,520 meters (4,987 ft) above sea level. Due to their location in the
tropics, this elevation is high enough to reach the temperate climate line in the tropics thereby
giving the highlands, mountains and the plateau regions standing above this height, a cool
mountain climate.