Mediterranean climate

Areas with a Mediterranean climate

Climate diagram of Antalya .

Mediterranean climate (also called Mediterranean climate , west side climate , older Etesienklima (after the wind Etesien / Meltemi ) and sometimes warm temperate climate ) describes macroclimates of the subtropics with dry, hot summers and rainy, mild winters and high sums of sunshine hours. This climate determines the eco-zone of the winter humid subtropics . It is named after the Mediterranean , but this type of climate can also be found on all other continents (apart from Antarctica).

definition

According to the effective climate classification according to Köppen and Geiger , the Mediterranean climate is defined by an annual total precipitation of over 400 to max. 1000 mm with humid winter months and arid summer months with a maximum precipitation below 40 mm and an annual mean temperature of over 14 ° C.

Areas of this climatic zone

Regions with winter rainy climate on the west side are:

• the Mediterranean
• the area west of the Sierra Nevada (California) in North America
• the area south of the Atacama Desert near Santiago de Chile in South America
• the Cape region in South Africa near Cape Town
• the region in Western Australia near Perth and the region in South Australia and Victoria between Adelaide and Melbourne .

Cities with a Mediterranean climate

Adelaide , Australia Al-Baida , Libya Algiers , Algeria Antalya , Turkey Athens , Greece (transition to steppe climate ) Barcelona , Spain Beirut , Lebanon Gibraltar , UK Haifa , Israel Cape Town , South Africa Lisbon , Portugal Latakia , Syria

Marseille , France Irbid , Jordan Monaco Neum , Bosnia and Herzegovina Podgorica , Montenegro Rabat , Morocco Rome , Italy San Francisco , USA Santiago de Chile , Chile Dubrovnik , Croatia Durrës , Albania Tunis , Tunisia Valletta , Malta

Cities that are located relatively far north in the Mediterranean and therefore receive over 40 mm of precipitation in the arid months, as well as cities that are exposed to the west on a sea coast in front of a mountain range and therefore also receive more than 40 mm of precipitation due to the windward-lee effect , would have to be classified as east side climate "Cfa" according to the Köppen climate classification. However, they are not located on the east side or in the area of ​​the trade winds, which is why they are also included in this list of cities with winter rainy climates on the west side.

Origin of this climatic zone

In contrast to the areas of the tropics , are still very low levels of Zenitalregen get there in the areas with a Mediterranean climate, on or near the 40th latitude are, no Zenitalregen. The few summer precipitation falls through thermal thunderstorms . The areas with a Mediterranean climate are in the arid summer months in the area of ​​the subtropical high pressure belt with its sinking hot dry air masses. Due to the regular shift of the trade winds , which, following the zenith of the sun, shifts to the hemisphere of the earth on the other side of the equator in the winter months, the areas with a Mediterranean climate come under the influence of the west wind zone in the winter months , which then causes precipitation Preserved form of cyclonic rain . Due to the special climatic conditions, a typical vegetation adapted to the summer drought developed in the Mediterranean area .

Web links

Commons : Mediterranean Climate  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ↑ This term is misleading, however, as some authors use it for the entire subtropics.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Heinz Nolzen (Ed.): Handbook of Geography Lessons. Vol. 12/2, Geozonen, Aulis Verlag Deubner & Co. KG, Cologne 1995, ISBN 978-3-7614-1619-8 . P. 27.
2. ^ Wilhelm Lauer : Climatology. Westermann, 1995, ISBN 3-14-160284-0 , pp. 147-158.
3. ^ Wilhelm Lauer : Climatology. Westermann Verlag 1995, ISBN 3-14-160284-0 . Page 89.