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This classification scheme is relatively simple and very popular. In this scheme there are five major climatic groups recognised mainly on the basis of temperature characteristics.
These five groups are further subdivided on the basis of the seasonal distribution of precipitation and additional temperature characteristics to give a total of 24 climatic types as shown below.
A. TROPICAL RAINY CLIMATES
• Af- Tropical rainforest climate
• Aw- Savanna climate
• Am- Tropical monsoon climate
B. DRY CLIMATES
• Bsh- Hot steppe climate
• Bsk- Cool steppe climate
• BWh- Hot desert climate
• BWk- cool desert climate
C. WARM TEMPERATE RAINY CLIMATES
• Cfa- Moist in all seasons, hot-summer
• Cfb- Moist in all seasons, warm summer
• Cfc- Moist in all seasons, cool, short summer
• Cwa- summer rain, hot summer
• Cwb- summer rain, warm summer
• Csa- winter rain, hot summer
• Csb- winter rain, warm summer
D. COOL SNOW FOREST CLIMATES
• Dfa- Moist in all seasons, hot summer
• Dfb- Moist in all seasons, warm summer
• Dfc- Moist in all seasons, cool summer
• Dfd- Moist in all seasons, severe winter
• Dwa- summer rain, hot summer
• Dwb- summer rain, warm summer
• Dwc- summer rain, cool summer
• Dwd- summer rain, severe winter
E. POLAR CLIMATES
• ET- Tundra
• EF- Perpetual snow and ice
In this classification, the major categories (A, B, C, D, and E) are based mainly on temperature criteria. The subdivisions of each major category are made with reference to the following:
• (f, m, w, s, W) refer to the seasonal distribution of precipitation.
• (a, b, c, d) refer to the additional temperature characteristics.
• (h, k) refer to the temperature distribution in the arid regions.
Despite its quantitative approach, objectivity, and invaluable merits as a teaching device several criticisms have been made of the scheme. The scheme has been criticized for lacking a sub-humid category; for being empirical rather than generic; for lack of justification for the use of some of the numerical criteria and even for the use of rigid boundary criteria at all in the light of lack of climatic observations over most parts of the world. Koppen’s climatic classification has particularly been criticized by Thornthwaite who described it as unsystematic, being based on a patchwork of unrelated rules and definitions. Koppen’s climatic regions are in essence vegetation regions climatically defined.
francis1897 answered the question on October 5, 2022 at 10:54
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