The climates of Asia

Asia is the largest continent in the world. Due to its large size and extensive area that covers from north to south and from east to west, there is a wide variety of climates. The climates of Asia can be broadly divided into the following types:

Equatorial climate

This climate is found in areas located very close to the equator. The climate is hot and humid all year round with excessive rainfall. There is no dry season and rainfall is distributed equally in all months of the year. This type of climate is also called the three-eighty climate, that is, 80 F (27 C) year-round temperature, 80 inches (2000 mm) or more of total annual precipitation, and 80% relative humidity throughout the anus. This type of climate is found in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Monsoon climates

This type has a defined dry season and a defined wet season. The cooler season is dry, while the warm season is actually very humid. The best example is the monsoon of the Indian subcontinent. Mumbai, for example, registers more than 2000 mm (80 inches) of rain in a year, but the months from December to February are absolutely dry. During the summer season, hot and humid winds blow from the Indian Ocean towards India, bringing heavy rains. In the colder months, the wind direction is from land to sea, so the winds are drier and bring little or no rain. China also experiences this type of climate, but the temperatures are colder than the Indian monsoon, which is why it is called the China type of monsoon.

Desert climates

These types of climates are found in central Asia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, northwestern India, and southeastern Pakistan. Although Central Asian deserts such as Gobi and Taklamakan are located outside the tropics, the excessive heat they face in summer makes them similar to deserts in lower latitudes. All deserts have the same characteristic features: very little rainfall and extreme temperatures. Precipitation is generally less than 10 inches (250 mm). The difference between the hottest and the coldest month is great. At Luktchun 43 N 90 E in Central Asia, the mean temperature of the hottest month is 90 F (32.2 C), which coincides with tropical deserts, but the coldest month records 13 F (-10.6 C), which it is unthinkable in the hottest deserts located in Arabia. etc.

Mid-latitude grassland climates

This type of climate is found in western Central Asia, where Asia meets Europe in the Ural Mountains and on the periphery of Mongolia. Summers are warm, winters cold with moderate rains that fall mainly in the summer months. Summer temperatures generally do not exceed 75 F (23 C) but winters are quite cold with two to three months below 32 F (0 C).

Cold temperate climate

This type of climate is found in higher latitudes, usually above 50 degrees north, and has moderate to cool summers and very cold winters. Since this area is very far from the nearby sea, it has extreme temperatures. A typical example of this type of climate is Verkoyansk in Siberia, which is located at 68 degrees north and 133 degrees east. The temperature for the month of July in this season is 60 F (16 C) while the mild for January is -58 F (-50 C) – a range of 118 F! The moderate precipitation is 14.7 inches (373 mm) and is mainly in the form of snow.

Arctic or tundra climate

This type of climate occurs in the extreme north of the continent near the North Pole. The climate is extremely cold all year round and no month exceeds 43 F (6 C), so no plantations or vegetation can survive. Only Eskimos that have adapted to this type of severe climate can survive in this climate zone. They have a special type of houses made of snow locally called igloos to keep them warm.

Mediterranean climate

This type of climate with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters occurs in Turkey, Syria, and along the coastal areas of Israel and Lebanon. Istanbul in Turkey is the best example. The hottest month records 74 F (23 C), the coldest 43 (6 C). Total annual precipitation is 29 inches (736 mm) of which 20 inches occur from November to March and summers are very dry.

In summary, this is a brief detail of the different climatic zones found in the Asian continent.