Tropical Climate
About the Climate Zone
Much of the equatorial belt within the tropical climate
zone experiences hot and humid weather. There is
abundant rainfall due to the active vertical uplift or
convection of air that takes place there, and during
certain periods, thunderstorms can occur every day.
Nevertheless, this belt still receives considerable
sunshine, and with the excessive rainfall, provides
ideal growing conditions for luxuriant vegetation. The
principal regions with a tropical climate are the Amazon
Basin in Brazil, the Congo Basin in West Africa and
Indonesia.
Because a substantial part of the Sun’s heat is used up
in evaporation and rain formation, temperatures in the
tropics rarely exceed 35°C; a daytime maximum of 32°C is
more common. At night the abundant cloud cover restricts
heat loss, and minimum temperatures fall no lower than
about 22°C. This high level of temperature is maintained
with little variation throughout the year. The seasons,
so far as they do exist, are distinguished not as warm
and cold periods but by variation of rainfall and
cloudiness. Greatest rainfall occurs when the Sun at
midday is overhead. On the equator this occurs twice a
year in March and September, and consequently there are
two wet and two dry seasons. Further away from the
equator, the two rainy seasons merge into one, and the
climate becomes more monsoonal, with one wet season and
one dry season. In the Northern Hemisphere, the wet
season occurs from May to July, in the Southern
Hemisphere from November to February.
Tropical Rainforest - Tropical Moist Climates (Af)
Rainfall is heavy in all months. The total annual rainfall is often more than 250 cm. (100 in.). There are seasonal differences in monthly rainfall but temperatures of 27°C (80°F) mostly stay the same. Humidity is between 77 and 88%.
High surface heat and humidity cause cumulus clouds to form early in the afternoons almost every day.
The climate on eastern sides of continents are influenced by maritime tropical air masses. These air masses flow out from the moist western sides of oceanic high-pressure cells, and bring lots of summer rainfall. The summers are warm and very humid. It also rains a lot in the winter
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Average temperature: 18 °C (°F)
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Annual Precipitation: 262 cm. (103 in.)
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Latitude Range: 10° S to 25 ° N
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Global Position: Amazon Basin; Congo Basin of equatorial Africa; East Indies, from Sumatra to New Guinea.
Savanna - Wet-Dry Tropical Climates (Aw)
A seasonal change occurs between wet tropical air masses and dry tropical air masses. As a result, there is a very wet season and a very dry season. Trade winds dominate during the dry season. It gets a little cooler during this dry season but will become very hot just before the wet season.
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Temperature Range: 16 °C
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Annual Precipitation: 0.25 cm. (0.1 in.). All months less than 0.25 cm. (0.1 in.)
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Latitude Range: 15 ° to 25 ° N and S
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Global Range: India, Indochina, West Africa, southern Africa, South America and the north coast of Australia
Chaparral Biome - Mediterranean Climate (Cs)
This is a wet-winter, dry-summer climate. Extremely dry summers are caused by the sinking air of the subtropical highs and may last for up to five months.
Plants have adapted to the extreme difference in rainfall and temperature between winter and summer seasons. Sclerophyll plants range in formations from forests, to woodland, and scrub. Eucalyptus forests cover most of the chaparral biome in Australia.
Fires occur frequently in Mediterranean climate zones.
Temperature Range: 7 °C (12 °F)
Annual Precipitation: 42 cm (17 in).
Latitude Range: 30° - 50° N and S
Global Position: central and southern California; coastal zones bordering the Mediterranean Sea; coastal Western Australia and South Australia; Chilean coast; Cape Town region of South Africa.