Humid climate
Humid climate (from French humid , in the same meaning as Latin umidus: "humid, wet, watery"), denotes humid and wet climates in which the annual rainfall is greater than the possible evaporation. This results in high humidity . The opposite is the arid climate . In addition, the division into humidity and aridity is based on the aridity index (also: dryness index ). If the numerical value of the monthly precipitation is more than twice as large as the monthly mean temperature, the water balance is humid.
After Walter and Lieth
Simplified, humid months in a climate diagram according to Walter and Lieth are characterized by a precipitation curve that is above the temperature curve. A distinction is also made between:
- semi-humid climate : precipitation> evaporation applies for 6 to 9 months of the year
- fully humid (panhumid) climate : precipitation> evaporation applies for 10 to 12 months of the year
It is the opposite of the arid climate . The difference between humid and arid climatic zones can easily be made clear: If you put a half-full bucket of water outside, the bucket will soon be empty in an arid climate and the water will have evaporated. In a humid climate, on the other hand, the bucket will overflow at some point.
Except for the semi-arid Mediterranean region, Europe is to be regarded as humid.
According to Köppen and Geiger (effective climate classification)
In the effective climate classification according to Köppen / Geiger , the fully humid climate type is a specification of other basic climates. It is marked with f in the second position. This does not classify between fully and semi-arid, but the non-humid types according to summer-dry (s) and winter-dry (w), and the sub-form of the monsoon climate (m) is eliminated.
In the fully humid climate type all months are humid; the driest month in the A climate ( tropical rainy climate ) has at least 60 mm of precipitation.
According to this scheme, almost all of Europe belongs to the fully humid type (Cfb in the west, Dfb in the east, Dfc in the north, Dfa in the far east), except for the Mediterranean area, which is classified as summer dry (Csa, Csb).
According to Lauer and Frankenberg (ecophysiological climate classification)
The ecophysiological climate classification defines the humidity or aridity according to the duration of the hygric vegetation period in months.
Lauer and Frankenberg define the following classes:
- subhumid : 5 to 6 humid months
- humid : 7 to 9 humid months
- perhumid : 10 to 12 humid months
See also
- Maritime climate
- Continental climate
- Climate classification - an overview
Web links
- Arid or humid? at eskp.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Glaser, R., Ch. Hauter, D. Faust, R. Glawion, H. Saurer, A. Schulte & D. Sudhaus (2010): Physical geography compact . Heidelberg: spectrum. ISBN 978-3-8274-2059-6 .