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(B) - Description of Module Component-I(A) - Personal Details Role Name Affiliation Principal Investigator Prof. Masood Ahsan Siddiqui Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi Paper Coordinator, if any Dr. Ramashray Prasad Associate Professor Dr B.R. Ambedkar College (University of Delhi Content Writer/Author Dr. Jitender Saroha Associate Professor in (CW) Geography Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College (University of Delhi) Content Reviewer (CR) Dr. Ramashray Prasad Associate Professor Dr B.R. Ambedkar College (University of Delhi) Component-I (B) - Description of Module Items Description of Module Subject Name Geography Paper Name Climatology Module Name/Title Humid Mesothermal Climates Module Id CL-29 Pre-requisites Objectives Keywords 1 Contents Introduction Learning Objectives 2 Humid Mesothermal Climates: Bases and Types Humid Subtropical Climate Distribution: Temperature: Precipitation: Natural Vegetation Subtropical Dry-summer or Mediterranean Climate Distribution: Temperature: Precipitation: Natural Vegetation: Marine West Coast Climate Distribution: Temperature: Precipitation: Natural Vegetation: Summary and conclusions Multiple Choice Questions Answers: References Web Links Humid Mesothermal Climates Dr. Jitender Saroha Associate Professor in Geography Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College 3 (University of Delhi) Yamuna Vihar, Delhi 110094. Introduction You all very well know that temperature decreases from equator to pole. On the basis of temperature, at macro level, the world is divided into three climatic zones – tropical, temperate and polar. On the basis of temperature and precipitation,Koppen recognized two groups of humid mid-latitude (temperate) climates. The one group, adjoining the tropics, has mild winters (the C climates) and the other, towards the polar region, experiences severe winters (the D climates). In these groups the precipitation exceeds evapo-transpiration. Therefore, these are humid climates. The first group represents humid mesothermal climates and the second represents the humid microthermal climates. The humid mesothermal climates include the following three major types – (i) Moist subtropical climate, (ii) Mediterranean climate and (iii) Marine west coast climate. In this unit our focus is on the humid mesothermal climates. Learning Objectives After studying this module, you will be able to: understand the meaning of humid mesothermal climates, differentiate between various types of humid mesothermal climates, describe the distinctive characteristic features of humid mesothermal climates, identify climatic regions of humid mesothermal climate, establish interrelationship between temperature, precipitation and natural vegetation, highlight the role of variousdeterminants of humid mesothermal climates,and explain the role of air masses and fronts in determining weather conditions of humid mesothermal climates. Humid Mesothermal Climates: Bases and Types Humid mesothermal climates are humid because in these climates precipitation exceeds evaporation. These climates have warm winters. The average temperature of the coldest month is in the range of -30 C to 180 C and the average temperature of the warmest month is above 100 C. Instead of -30 C temperature of the coldest month, Trewartha and many other climatologists have used 00 C for determining humid mesothermal climate. At macro level, the humid mesothermal climates type or group is represented by letter symbol ‘C’. In determining the sub types or second order, seasonal distribution of precipitation is taken into consideration. The areas receiving rainfall throughout the year are represented by symbol ‘f’ and the areas which remain dry during summer but wet in winter, by symbol ‘s’. Further classification is done, on the basis of summer season temperatures, hot summers and cool summers are represented by symbols ‘a’ and ‘b’ respectively. The criteria used by Koppen for the classification of humid mesothermal climates are listed in Table 1. 4 Table 1. Koppen’s Main Criteria for Humid Mesothermal Climates Climate Subtype Sub-subtype Criteria type C Average temperature of the coldest month is < than 180C and above – 30C; average temperature of the warmest month is greater than 100C. f Precipitation throughout the year and no dry season. The driest month of summer receives > 3 cm rainfall. s At least three times as much rain in wettest winter month as in the driest summer months; precipitation in driest summer month < than 3 cm. a Hot summer; average temperature of the warmest month > 220C; at least four months above 100C. b Cool summer; average temperature of the warmest month < 220C; at least four months above 100C. Source: Lal, D.S. (2009) Physical Geography, Sharda PustakBhawan, Allahabad, P-498-499. Koppenidentified sub types in the humid mesothermalclimate on the basis of temperature, precipitation and seasonal distribution of precipitation. Strahler (1978) used the criteria of air masses and front zones and identified three climatic classes as equivalents to Koppen’s classification of humid mesothermal climates (Table 2). In this unit focus is on the distribution and characteristics of these three major humid mesothermal climatesas proposed by Koppen, and later followed by Trewartha and Strahler. These climates, generally, are located poleward of megathermal climates i.e. tropical climates (Figure 1). Table2. Humid Mesothermal Climates Classified by KoppenandStrahler Koppen’s Classification Strahler’s Classification Koppen (1900/1918) Strahler ((1978) Temperate rainy climate, hot summer (Cfa) Moist subtropical climate Temperate rainy climate, dry and hot summer (Cs) Mediterranean climate Temperate rainy climate with warm summers (Cfb) Marine west coast climate Source:Strahler, A.N. and Strahler, A.N. (2001) P-159. Figure 1: Distribution of Humid Mesothermal Climates in the World 5 Source: http://slideplayer.com/slide/4558178/15/images/17/Mesothermal+Climates+(C).jpg Humid Subtropical Climate The humid subtropical climate is also known as temperate rainy climate with hot summers. It is characterized by hot summers, mild winters and throughout the yearprecipitation.Therefore, in the Koppen’s climatic classification scheme it is symbolized as Cfa. During summer hot and sultry weather conditions of the type expected in the rainy tropics prevail. Besides these, convectional rainfall in summer isanother salientfeature commonly shared with humid tropical climates. On the contrary, during winter, because of change in the overhead position of sun the pressure and wind belts shift and the humid subtropical climate regions are placed under the influence of temperate cyclones and frontal systems.It is noteworthy that the Mediterranean climate occupies the western side of the continents, whereas the humid subtropical climate is located on the eastern sides. Distribution: The humid subtropical climate is found on the eastern sides of the continents, in the 250 to 400 latitude range in both the hemispheres. As compared to the southern hemisphere land masses are more extensive in the middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Therefore, this climate occupies much larger areas in the northern hemisphere. This climate prevails in the southeastern United States and other similarly situated areas: all of Uruguay, southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina in South America, eastern China (particularly south of the Hwang Ho River) and southern most Japan in Asia, and south-east coast of South Africa (Natal region) and 6 eastern coast of Australia. On the basis of its distribution, this climate is also known as China type or Gulf type or Natal type. Temperature: Temperature values in this climate reflect that the summer temperatures are comparable to the tropics and that winter values are markedly lower (Figure 2). Summer season average temperature range is 160 to 260 C. Humid subtropical regions have mild winters. The average temperatures for winter months vary from 30 C to 130 C. In the coldest month, average temperatures for various stations are as follows: Buenos Aires, Argentina, 100 C; New Orleans, USA, 120 C; Shanghai, China, 3.30C;Nagasaki, Japan, 6.10 C; and Washington D.C., USA, 2.70C. Figure 2: Distribution of Temperature at Selected Stations in the Humid Subtropical Climate Mean Monthly Temperature 30 25 C) 0 20 15 10 Temperature ( Temperature 5 0 J F M A M J J A S O N D Charleston 10 11 14 18 22 26 27 26 24 19 13 10 Washington D.C. 2.7 3.2 7.1 13 19 23 26 25 21 15 8.7 3.4 New Orleans 12 13 16 19 23 26 27 27 25 21 15 13 Source: Frederick K.L and Edward, J.T. (2010), P-436 and 488. In this climatic region winters are comparatively severe in China as well as United States. In case of China, these areas are invaded by cold polar winds during winter. In case of United States intrusions of cold continental polar air masses result in very severe cold weather. In winter too, the high relative humidity associated with the passage of temperate cyclones and frontal systems makes the cold humid weather uncomfortable. In the southern hemisphere; due to lack of continentality the winters are not that severe. The annual range of temperature in humid subtropical climate is moderate. However, there are wide variations in annual temperature ranges depending upon the latitudinal position and continentality.The annual ranges at Sydney, Buenos Aires, New Orleans, Charleston, Washington D.C., and Shanghai are 110C, 140C, 150C, 16.50 C, 230C, and 240 C, respectively. Due to favourable temperature regime, the length of growing season is long (8 to 12 months). Frost is a rare phenomenon
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