The Short Respond:

At that place are approximately 5 chief climate types on Earth:

  • Tropical
  • Dry
  • Temperate
  • Continental
  • Polar

Climate is the average weather weather in a place over a long period of time—30 years or more. And equally yous probably already know, in that location are lots of different types of climates on Earth.

For case, hot regions are usually closest to the equator. The climate is hotter there considering the Sun'south light is nigh directly overhead at the equator. And the North and S Poles are common cold because the Lord's day's light and heat are least direct in that location.

A photo of snow-covered mountains

The snow-covered peaks of the Chigmit Range during winter. Credit: NPS/M. Cahill 2015

Using this data, in the late 1800s and early 1900s a German climate scientist named Wladimir Koppen divided the world's climates into categories. His categories were based on the temperature, the amount of precipitation, and the times of year when precipitation occurs. The categories were also influenced past a region's breadth—the imaginary lines used to measure our Earth from north to south from the equator.

Today, climate scientists split the World into approximately v principal types of climates. They are:

A: Tropical. In this hot and humid zone, the average temperatures are greater than 64°F (eighteen°C) yr-round and in that location is more 59 inches of atmospheric precipitation each yr.

B: Dry. These climate zones are then dry because wet is quickly evaporated from the air and at that place is very little precipitation.

C: Temperate. In this zone, there are typically warm and humid summers with thunderstorms and balmy winters.

D. Continental. These regions have warm to cool summers and very cold winters. In the winter, this zone can feel snowstorms, strong winds, and very cold temperatures—sometimes falling below -22°F (-30°C)!

Due east: Polar. In the polar climate zones, it's extremely cold. Fifty-fifty in summer, the temperatures here never go higher than fifty°F (10°C)!

This is roughly where those climate zones announced on a globe:

An illustration of a globe with latitude and longitude lines

What does a map of climate zones actually expect like?

Distance to the equator is simply one part of an area'southward climate. Things like the move of the oceans and Earth's tilt and rotation also touch on how weather patterns move around the globe.

If you classify the United States into climate zones using all of this information, it actually looks something like this:

An illustration of climate zones on a US map

This is an illustration of the climate zones within the United states. The extra climate zone, labeled "H" on this map, is a special zone called the highlands. The highlands climate zone is characterized by atmospheric condition that differs from the surrounding area because of mountains. Credit: NOAA (modified)

How tin information about climate zones be used?

Climate zones tin can be useful for gardening and farming. Plants grow best in the climate conditions that are found in their native ecosystem. For instance, if y'all desire to plant an apple orchard in your backyard, you should commencement cheque to see which varieties of apples are a good match for your region'southward climate.

A map of plant hardiness zones in the United States

This is called a Found Hardiness Zone map. It's a specific type of climate zone map that can aid you figure out what kinds of plants will survive in your dorsum m. Paradigm credit: USDA/Agricultural Research Service/Oregon State Academy

How exercise atmospheric condition satellites play a office?

Weather satellites mostly help with tracking conditions that are happening right now and forecasting weather in the nearly time to come. Nonetheless, they likewise collect information that helps us monitor a region's climate over time.

For example, satellites in the GOES-R series—short for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R—can monitor the sea surface temperature and the Gulf Stream, a powerful current in the Atlantic Ocean. Both of these things can influence a region'south climate.

In add-on, the temperature of the country becomes libation at nighttime, and there are changes in the amount of clouds. The GOES-R series satellites monitor cloudiness and land surface temperature—data that helps scientists to empathise how the differences betwixt day and night tin touch a region's climate.

Satellites in the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) can also provide information on differences between day and nighttime. For example, JPSS orbits Earth twice a 24-hour interval in what's called an afternoon orbit. As the satellite orbits from North Pole to Due south Pole, it captures observations in the afternoon on ane side of Earth and observations of the early morning on the other side of the planet.

While JPSS orbits, the satellites provide global observations of many other variables that influence climate such as atmospheric temperature and water vapor, snow and water ice cover, vegetation, bounding main and land surface temperature, atmospheric precipitation and more. These add important data to our records of regional differences in Earth's climate.