climate zones:
| Cold Zone | Temperate Zone | Subtropic Zone | Tropical Zone | Mountains - Valleys |
the tropical Zone
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Characterisation
| Area | Around equator, from 23.5° further north to 23.5° southern latitude |
| sun path | sun in zenith (90°) at least once per year, never lower than 43° |
| Average temperature | >20° to 30° |
| minimal temperature | 0° (no frost) |
| maximal temperature | up to 40° (seldom more) |
| radiation | positive |
| daylenght | 10 to 13.5 hours |
| Precipitation | rain - will be definites by trade wind and it`s seasonal shift |
| Climate | humid - warm. Often precipitation (humid), sometimes (short) drought. "Day time" instead of "Season climate" (daily changes in tempperature are bigger than the annual changes of daily averages.) |
| Vegetation | evergreen forests, savanna |
| property | More than 40% of earth`s population live in the tropics, with increasing tendency. |
Subdivisons of the tropical zone
Within the Tropics there are different vegetation zones. These depend on the time, during which there is sufficient water available for plants to grow. The differentiation is made according to number of dry (arid*) and wet (humid*) months:
The humid climate close to the equator changes to a semi-humid bzw. semi-arid tropical climate towards the Tropics*) , which results in different ecozones*) from tropical forests*) over various types of Savanna*) to the tropical semi-deserts and deserts zeigt.
In the humid tropics, which surround the equator with exception of East Africa and the Andes, tropical rain forests form. The semi-humid tropics, in which the dry-*) and wet seasons*) shape the seasons, are characterised by Savannas*) , Dry forests*) and Monsun forestsr*) , which flank thetropical rain forests, and also the wetlands of the Pantanal*) in South America belong to this zone. The arid tropics are deserts and semi-deserts, where only small changes of temperature occur in the course of the year.
- humid: 12 to 9½ humid months = tropical rainforest,
- semi-humid: 9 ½ to 7 humid months = Wet savanna,
- semi-humid: 7 to 4½ humid months = Dry savanna,
- semi-arid: 4 1/2 to 2 humid months = thorn savanna and
- arid: 2 to 0 humid months = desert.
The humid climate close to the equator changes to a semi-humid bzw. semi-arid tropical climate towards the Tropics*) , which results in different ecozones*) from tropical forests*) over various types of Savanna*) to the tropical semi-deserts and deserts zeigt.
In the humid tropics, which surround the equator with exception of East Africa and the Andes, tropical rain forests form. The semi-humid tropics, in which the dry-*) and wet seasons*) shape the seasons, are characterised by Savannas*) , Dry forests*) and Monsun forestsr*) , which flank thetropical rain forests, and also the wetlands of the Pantanal*) in South America belong to this zone. The arid tropics are deserts and semi-deserts, where only small changes of temperature occur in the course of the year.
Tropical Zone : further description
The tropical zone (v. gr.: tropai heliou sun turning areas) is the warmest climate zone of the earth. The Tropics are:
As a border of the Tropics to the subtropics "Köppen" used the 18°-Isotherme, Supan and Phlippson the 20°-Isotherme of the coldest month. These demarcations refer however only to the warm tropics lain in small height over the sea level. In addition, the typical climatic characteristics of the Tropics are valid for the areas lain more highly. Because of the temperature decrease with the height one speaks if the 18° or 20°-Isotherme is fallen below, but computationally a higher value would result, from the cold tropics.
Ektropen are areas, which are not in the tropics.
- radiation-climatically regards the areas, which are limited by the Tropic of cancer and the tropic of capricorn (23,5° northern and southern latitude) and in those the sun stands at least once the year in the zenith (highest conditions = 90°C to the ground).
- in the system of the atmospheric circulation the range between the two subtropical-edge-tropical high pressure belts of the north and Southern Hemisphere of the earth.
- the range on both sides the equator, is coined/shaped by higher dailytemporal (time of day climate) and smaller seasonal variations in temperature (25 °C annual averages), since by the all year round high irradiation no thermal seasons can form,
- the range, within which the daily lengths in the course of the yearly vary only slightly between 10,5 and 13,5 hours.
As a border of the Tropics to the subtropics "Köppen" used the 18°-Isotherme, Supan and Phlippson the 20°-Isotherme of the coldest month. These demarcations refer however only to the warm tropics lain in small height over the sea level. In addition, the typical climatic characteristics of the Tropics are valid for the areas lain more highly. Because of the temperature decrease with the height one speaks if the 18° or 20°-Isotherme is fallen below, but computationally a higher value would result, from the cold tropics.
Ektropen are areas, which are not in the tropics.