Question

Define ‘climatic region’? What are the bases of Koeppen’s classification?

Answer 1

A climatic region has a homogeneous climatic condition which is the result of a combination of factors. Temperature and rainfall are two important elements that are considered to be decisive in all the schemes of climatic classification. Koeppen identified a close relationship between the distribution of vegetation and climate. He selected certain values of temperature and precipitation and related them to the distribution of vegetation and used these values for classifying the climates. Koeppen introduced the use of capital and small letters to designate climatic groups and types. Koeppen recognized five major climatic groups, four of which are based on temperature and one on precipitation.

• Tropical climates,
• Dry climates,
• Warm temperate climates,
• Cool temperate climates,
• Ice climates