Middle East and Africa

Climates of the Middle East & Africa.

Population of the Middle East & Africa.

Middle East & Africa: Religion.

Middle East & Africa: Language

Climate

Climate
Climate is defined as the avarage weather conditions at a specific place over a long period. The standard averaging period is 30 years. 
Weather is what the forecasters on the television news predict each day. Weather is elements which we see daily, such as temperature, rain and wind. These can change hour by hour, day by day. Climate on the other hand looks at how the weather changes over a long period of time, typically over 30 years. It can be thought of as the average weather over a long period.

The difference between weather and climate
The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change.

Climate classification system
Scientists (e.g. Wladimir Köppen) have been able to define climate zones around the world. Here in the Netherlands, we have a ‘temperate’ climate that is neither especially hot nor cold, wet nor dry, when compared to other climates. It is a very different climate to that in the Sahara for example, which is known as arid because throughout the year the weather is dry and hot.

Wladimir Köppen (1846-1940), was a Russian-born German climatologist who developed a systematic method of classifying the climates of the world based on long-term patterns of the distribution of temperature and precipitation around 1900. His classification remains the most used climate classification system up to the present day.

Climate and vegetation
The distribution of vegetation is strongly correlated with climate patterns.

Köppen - climate classification system

Wladimir Köppen (1846-1940), was a Russian-born German climatologist who developed a systematic method of classifying the climates of the world based on long-term patterns of the distribution of temperature and precipitation around 1900. His classification remains the most used climate classification system up to the present day.

Köppen – climate classification system			examples
Tropical climates	Af	Tropical rainforest climate	Belém, Brazil
	Aw	Tropical wet and dry / savanna climate	Lagos, Nigeria
Dry (arid and semi-arid) climates	BS	Steppe climate	Denver, Colorado, United States
	BW	Desert climate	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Temperate climates	Cs	Mediterranean climate, dry season in the summer	Barcelona, Spain
	Cw	Temperate maritime climate, dry season in the winter	Zhengzhou, China
	Cf	Temperate maritime climate, no dry season	Roermond, The Netherlands
Continental climates	Df	Continental climate, no dry season	Chicago, Illinois, United States
	Dw	Continental climate, dry in the winter	Vladivostok, Russia
Polar climates	ET	Tundra climate	Vardø, Norway
	EF	Ice Cap climate	Antarctica
	EH	Highland climate	The Himalayas

Köppen – climate classification system - world map

Basics of Geography: Climate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95TtXYjOEv4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL08EA6BBD906C7474

Climate is commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period. The standard averaging period is 30 years.

Climate includes temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind and rainfall.
Climate can be contrasted to weather, which is the present condition of these elements and their variations over shorter periods.
The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents.

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