Understanding Different Climate Types and Their Characteristics
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Climate Classification
Climate refers to the typical weather that a place experiences over many years. Different parts of the world can be described as having dry, wet, hot, or cold climates.
Koppen Classification
There have been many schemes to classify climates. The classification most used nowadays was developed between 1884-1940 by the German climatologist Wladimir Peter Koppen (1846-1940).
Koppen divided climates into six principal types designated by the letters A-F, with highland climates forming a seventh. Within these categories, other letters provide further information.
Subtropical
Canary Islands. Winter 14ºC, Summer 22º degrees Celsius
Mediterranean
Total rainfall in this region is lower than in the rest of Spain, it's concentrated in the late autumn-winter period. Rainfalls are slight, insufficient, irregular, and unreliable. Temperatures in Mediterranean regions usually are higher in both summer and winter, and diurnal temperature changes are more limited than in continental regions. January 10 to 30 ºC in most of the regions, July and August 22º to 27ºC on the coast, and farther inland 29º to 31ºC, with low humidity.
Maritime
Mild winters, warm but not hot summers, abundant rainfalls throughout the year. Temperatures vary slightly on diurnal and a seasonal basis. The effects of the sea, however, abate in the inland areas, where temperatures are from 9º to 18º C higher than temperatures on the coast. The distance from the Atlantic Ocean affects precipitation, there is less rainfall in the East than in the West. Autumn is the wettest season and July the driest. Humidity and off-shore winds make fog and mist common on the northwest coast.
Continental
Wide diurnal and seasonal variations in temperature and by low, irregular rainfall with high rates of evaporation that leave the land arid. Two rainy seasons, spring (April-June) and autumn (October-November). Even during wet seasons, rain is irregular and unreliable. Cold winters, with strong winds and high humidity, even low precipitation. Except for mountain areas, the northern foothills of the Sistema Iberico are the coldest areas. Summers are warm and cloudless, 21ºC in the northern Meseta and 24º-27ºC in the southern Meseta. Nighttime temperatures are from 7º-10ºC.