Climates summary

Although we all live in the same country, there are certain things that differentiate us. These differences are not only the culture or how developed our country is, but the type of climate of our region. All along this summary, diverse climates are going to be explained.

EQUATORIAL CLIMATE: As the name indicates, it is located in the Equator, five degrees north and five degrees south. Temperatures are high and constant, with an annual range of 2ºC, because the sun is always at a high angle in the sky. There isn't a dry season, although some months can be drier. Moreover, it is wet during the whole year, with an average rainfall of 200/25000 mm. Winds, in this climate, are light and variable. The most interesting characteristic of this climate is its daily pattern.
This means that when the sun rises, the heat starts evaporating all the moisture from the rain from the previous day. By midday temperatures reach 33ºC, so air goes up and starts forming clouds with the moisture it brings. In the afternoon, this clouds are cumulonimbus (bigger clouds), so they precipitate in long thunderstorms. When the night reaches, rain had stopped. This cycle happens every day, this is why it is called a "daily pattern".

TROPICAL (INTERIOR) CONTINENTAL CLIMATE: The tropical continental climate can be also called tropical interior climate because it is located inside the continent, away from coasts, between five and fifteen degrees north and south of the Equator. Unlike the Equatorial climate, this one has a n alternation between the dry, cool season and the hot, wet season. In the first one, as the sun is overhead to the opposite hemisphere, temperature decrease a bit and the prevailing winds take away all the moisture left by the other season. However, in the hot, wet season, as the sun points directly to the land, the temperatures are higher which produces high precipitations, as well. This two season are the result  of the position of the sun. Overall, the average temperature is 31ºC.

MONSOON CLIMATE: Monsoon means "seasons" which refers to the two main season this climate has: the south-west monsoon and the north-east monsoon. The south-west monsoon is located in the north of the Himalayas, where it is extremely hot because the sun hit directly to this region. In this way, air goes up and a region of low pressure is formed. As this empty space of air must be fill, south-westerly winds appear, full of moist. When they reach the mountains, the air goes up and as it gets higher, it cools and it precipitates. On the other hand, the north-east monsoon is created when the sun points to the south instead of pointing to the north. In this way, an area of high pressure is formed at the north  of the Himalayas, so winds try to get away. As this winds come from the land, they are  dry, which means that they don't produce rainfalls. This two seasons are obviously determined by the reversal in the wind direction. Furthermore, this climate is located in South-east Asia.

HOT DESERT CLIMATE: Hot deserts are located on the west side of the continents between five and thirty degrees north and south form the Equator. They have a high evapotranspiration, which is the evaporated water from plants, animals, land and oceans. Moreover, as it is well-known, this regions suffer high temperatures when the sun hits them directly, and lower temperatures when the sun is opposite. Additionally, coastal areas are cooler because of the seas influence and the offshore currents. Whether inland temperatures can reach 50ºC during the day, during the night temperatures are extremely cold, because there aren't clouds to retain the heat. Furthermore, deserts have a little amount of precipitation (250/300mm) because either cold winds come from the sea with no or little moisture, or the winds come from the lands, so they don't bring any moisture either, or winds have to cross mountain ranges, creating rain shadows, or because as winds get away from the Equator, they become colder when they sink in the deserts, becoming warmer, trapping all the moisture and living a cloudless sky.

COLD CLIMATES: The cold climates are found in the northern hemisphere, poleward side, 60ºC north of the Equator. This climate is composed by freezing cold winters, with little amount of day-light and strong winds and, on the other side by short summers with long hours of day-light which create high temperatures, as regards this latitude. Concerning precipitation, it is light because, as the air is so cold, it can`t retain  moisture and because these regions are away from the sea, so winds don`t carry moist. MOreover this precipitation can fall as snow or, in some cases, hail.