C-Warm Temperature Climate(Mid-Latitude)

Mediterranean Climate (Cs: C – Warm Temperate, s – Dry summer)

Introduction to Mediterranean Climate

When we hear the word Mediterranean, we naturally think of the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, olive trees, vineyards, and sunny resorts. But in climatology, “Mediterranean Climate” is not confined to Europe; it’s a global climatic type found in many parts of the world.

It is also called:

• Warm Temperate Western Margin Climate
• Warm Temperate West Coast Climate

The key feature is:
👉 Warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters (winter rainfall maxima).

The fundamental cause?

• The shifting of wind belts (Westerlies and Trades) with the apparent movement of the sun.

📌 Distribution

Mediterranean climate is restricted to the western margins of continents, between 30° and 45° latitudes, both north and south of the equator.

Major regions include:

1. Mediterranean Basin (largest and classic example)
2. Central Chile (best-developed form)
3. California (San Francisco region)
4. South-western tip of Africa (Cape Town)
5. Southern and South-Western Australia (Swanland)

👉 So, whenever you see a west coast, mid-latitude location, think Mediterranean climate.

☀️ Climate Characteristics

1. Summers → Hot, dry, cloudless skies, strong inland winds (sometimes from deserts), prone to wildfires.
2. Winters → Cool, wet, cyclonic rainfall brought by on-shore Westerlies.
3. Annual rainfall → 35–90 cm, mostly in torrential winter showers.
4. Temperature Range:
   • Warmest month ≥ 10°C
   • Coldest month < 18°C but > –3°C
   • No extreme cold due to oceanic moderation.

👉 Exam point: Remember the seasonal reversal of rainfall – summer drought vs. winter rainfall. This is the climatic identity of the Mediterranean.

🌿 Natural Vegetation

Since summers are dry, plants must survive drought → hence xerophytic vegetation (drought-tolerant).

1. Mediterranean Evergreen Forests
   • Trees are stunted, widely spaced.
   • Example: Evergreen oak, cork oak (cork used for wine bottles).
   • In California → giant redwoods; in Australia → eucalyptus.
2. Evergreen Conifers
   • Pines, firs, cedars, cypress → needle-shaped leaves, tall trunks.
3. Bushes and Shrubs (most common)
   • Thickets and scrub vegetation → adapted to heat and drought.
4. Grass
   • Very poor growth, wiry and bunchy → unsuitable for animal farming.
   • Hence cattle rearing is unimportant.

🌾 Agriculture

Mediterranean lands are famous as “Orchard Lands of the World.”

1. Orchard Farming
   • 70% of world’s citrus exports come from here.
   • Fruits: olives, oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, grapefruit.
   • Nuts: walnuts, almonds, chestnuts.
   • Long roots of trees → absorb deep groundwater during droughts.
2. Cereal Crops
   • Wheat (staple), barley (secondary).
3. Pastoralism
   • Limited sheep and goat rearing in mountain pastures.
   • Transhumance (seasonal migration of herds) is common.
4. Viticulture (Wine Production)
   • Traditional occupation.
   • Mediterranean → produces 75% of world’s wine.
   • 85% of grapes → used in winemaking.

💰 Economy

• Exports → Fruits, nuts, wine (net exporter).
• Imports → Dairy products (since grass and cattle rearing are weak).
• Tourism → Clear skies, beaches, historic cities, health resorts.
• Cultural Significance → Many ancient civilizations (Greek, Roman, Egyptian) flourished here.

🎯 Why It Matters (for UPSC)

1. Climatic uniqueness: summer drought, winter rain.
2. Agricultural specialization: orchard farming + viticulture.
3. Geopolitical importance: cradle of civilizations, major global trade routes.
4. Environmental concern: frequent wildfires, desertification risk.

✅ In summary, the Mediterranean Climate is a warm temperate west coast climate marked by dry sunny summers and wet winters, supporting orchard farming, viticulture, and tourism. Its vegetation is xerophytic, agriculture highly commercial, and economy export-oriented.

Warm Temperate Eastern Margin Climate (Cfa)

🌍 Introduction

The eastern margins of continents, between 20° and 35° latitude in both hemispheres, experience this climate.

It is called:

• Humid Subtropical Climate (common term)
• Warm Temperate Eastern Margin Climate (technical term)

👉 The key feature is a warm, moist summer and a cool, comparatively dry winter, though winters are not as severe as in continental interiors.

Within this climate, three variants are recognized:

1. China Type (Temperate Monsoonal)
2. Gulf Type (South-eastern USA)
3. Natal Type (South Africa, Australia, South America)

📌 Distribution

• China Type → Eastern China, southern Japan.
• Gulf Type → South-eastern USA (around Gulf of Mexico).
• Natal Type → Natal (South Africa), New South Wales (Australia), and Parana–Uruguay–Paraguay Basin (South America).

☀️ Climate Characteristics

1. Temperature
   • Mean monthly → 4°C to 25°C.
   • Modified by oceans → winters not too cold, summers hot and moist.
   • Sometimes Polar Vortex brings sudden cold air, leading to frost.
2. Precipitation
   • Annual rainfall: 60–150 cm (adequate for all agriculture).
   • Well-distributed throughout the year:
     • Summer → convectional + orographic rainfall, storms, typhoons/hurricanes.
     • Winter → rainfall from depressions (prolonged showers).
   • Hence, regions are densely populated due to reliable agriculture.

🌐 Variants in Detail

1. China Type (Temperate Monsoonal Climate)

• Summer:
  • Interior heating → low pressure → draws moist Pacific winds.
  • South-East Monsoon brings rainfall, though less dramatic than Indian monsoon.
  • Typhoons (July–September).
• Winter:
  • Strong Siberian High → outflow of dry, cold continental polar winds (North-West Monsoon).
  • Snow on windward slopes, but otherwise dry.

2. Gulf Type (South-Eastern USA)

• Summer → inflow of moist Atlantic air.
• No sharp monsoon reversal.
• Hurricanes common in Sept–Oct.
• Rainfall moderate but sufficient → agriculture flourishes.

3. Natal Type (South Africa, Australia, S. America)

• Rainfall throughout the year → due to on-shore South-East Trade Winds.
• Less monsoonal, more maritime.
• Hence, called non-monsoonal humid subtropical climate.

🌿 Natural Vegetation

• Luxuriant forests → both evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous hardwoods.
• Highlands → conifers (pines, cypress).
• Regional variations:
  • China/Japan → oak, camphor.
  • Brazil/Paraguay → Parana pine, quebracho (very hard wood).
  • Eastern Australia → eucalyptus.
  • Natal → palm trees.
  • Gulf States (USA) → lowland deciduous forests.

🌾 Agriculture and Economic Life

China Type (SE China, Japan)

• Rice → staple crop, one-third of world’s rice grown in China.
• Tea and mulberries (sericulture).
• Paddy cultivation → supported by warm temperatures, rainfall, fertile alluvial plains, and terrace farming.
• High population pressure → little surplus for export.

Gulf Type (SE USA)

• Corn (Maize)
  • Region produces >50% of world’s corn.
  • Used mostly for fattening pigs and cattle (beef & pork industry).
  • High yield — almost double wheat.
• Cotton
  • Best suited climate: long frost-free growing season (200 days).
  • Concentrated in Mississippi flood plains & Atlantic coastlands.
  • Threat: boll-weevil pest.
• Tobacco
  • Native to America (Virginia tobacco).
  • Humid climate + well-drained soil → ideal conditions.
  • Contributes half of world’s traded tobacco.

Natal Type (S. Africa, Australia, S. America)

• South Africa (Natal) → Sugarcane (dominant), maize, cotton, tobacco.
• South America → Coffee, maize, yerba mate, cattle & sheep (meat, wool, hides).
• Eastern Australia → Dairying, maize, cane sugar, cotton; forests cleared for European settlements.

💡 Why This Climate is Important

1. Population Density → fertile soils + dependable rainfall → supports huge populations (China, Japan).
2. Commercial Agriculture → rice, corn, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane.
3. Global Trade → contributes significantly to world supply of rice, maize, tobacco, cotton.
4. Natural Hazards → prone to typhoons, hurricanes, pests (boll-weevil).

✅ In summary:
The Warm Temperate Eastern Margin Climate (Cfa) is the humid subtropical climate, marked by warm, moist summers and cool winters, abundant and evenly distributed rainfall, luxuriant vegetation, and intensive agriculture. Its three subtypes (China, Gulf, Natal) differ slightly in rainfall sources and seasonal characteristics, but all support dense populations and diversified economies.

Cool Temperate Western Margin Climate (Cf)

🌍 Introduction

This climate is found on the western margins of continents in the cool temperate belt.
It is under the influence of westerlies throughout the year → hence also a zone of frontal cyclonic activity (temperate cyclones).

Common names:

• British Type Climate (because Britain is its classic example)
• North-West European Maritime Climate (due to strong oceanic influence).

👉 Key Idea: Mild temperatures (no extremes) + rainfall all year, with a slight winter maximum.

📌 Distribution

1. Europe → Britain, NW France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, western Norway, NW Iberia.
2. North America → confined to coastlands of British Columbia (Rockies block westerlies inland).
3. Southern Hemisphere → southern Chile, Tasmania, southern Australia, most of New Zealand.

☀️ Climate Characteristics

1. Temperature
   • Annual mean: 5°C – 15°C.
   • Summers → moderately warm.
   • Winters → abnormally mild (due to North Atlantic Drift).
   • Frosts occur on cold nights, but ports never freeze (big advantage for shipping).
2. Precipitation
   • Rainfall all year, with a winter maximum.
   • Caused by frontal cyclones from westerlies.
   • Western margins (like west New Zealand) → heavy orographic rain.
   • Eastern margins (Canterbury Plains, NZ) → rain shadow, drier.
3. Seasons
   • Winter: cloudy, foggy, frequent rain.
   • Spring: driest, most refreshing.
   • Summer: long, sunny.
   • Autumn: gusty winds, storms.
     👉 Thus, four distinct seasons (unlike tropics).

🌿 Natural Vegetation

• Dominant → Deciduous forests (trees shed leaves in autumn to resist frost/snow).
• Common species: oak, elm, ash, birch, beech, poplar.
• Wet areas → willows (lightweight wood, used for cricket bats — in India found in Kashmir).
• Highlands → replaced by conifers (pines, firs, spruces).
• Tasmania → temperate eucalyptus also important.

💰 Economy

1. Lumbering

• Unlike equatorial forests, deciduous forests grow in pure stands → easy logging.
• Hardwoods → used for furniture, fuel, industry.
• Conifers → paper, pulp, cardboard.

2. Industrialisation

• Region is highly industrialized (Britain, France, Germany).
• Ruhr (Germany), Manchester, Liverpool, Yorkshire (UK) → global industrial hubs.
• Strong automobile industries (BMW, Audi, Mercedes).
• Denmark, Netherlands, NZ → industries based on dairy products.
• Tasmania → merino wool.
• Fishing → major in Britain, Norway, British Columbia.

🌾 Agriculture

Agriculture is intensive, diversified, and market-oriented.

1. Market Gardening
   • High population density + industrialization → demand for fresh food.
   • Vegetables, eggs, meat, milk → supplied rapidly by truck farming (fast transport).
   • Tasmania exports fruits & vegetables to mainland Australia daily.
2. Mixed Farming
   • Combination of arable (crops) + pastoral (animals).
   • Crops: Wheat (main cereal, mostly home consumption), barley (used for beer & whisky).
   • Animals: Cattle dominate.
3. Dairying
   • Ideal climate for intensive dairying.
   • Netherlands → cheese; Denmark, NZ → butter.
   • Milk converted into condensed/evaporated forms → exported globally (baby food, chocolates, ice cream).
4. Beef Cattle
   • Cattle reared for beef in Argentina, Australia, and parts of Europe.
   • Refrigeration enabled export of chilled/frozen beef.
   • Denmark → exports bacon (pigs fed on skimmed milk, by-product of butter).
5. Sheep Rearing
   • For both wool and meat.
   • Britain → pedigree breeds (exports breeding stock).
   • NZ → specializes in sheep (Canterbury Plains → lamb & wool).
   • Refrigeration allows global export.
6. Potatoes
   • Staple in Europe → high starch yield, more productive than cereals.
7. Beet Sugar
   • NW Europe (including Russia, USA).
   • Historical note → Napoleonic Wars (blockades led to beet sugar replacing scarce cane sugar).

🎯 Why This Climate is Important

1. Classic UPSC theme: British vs Mediterranean vs China types.
2. Four distinct seasons → cultural & agricultural significance.
3. Industrial strength: Britain & Germany became global powers due to this climate zone.
4. Agricultural innovations: dairying, market gardening, mixed farming.
5. Global trade networks: wool, beef, butter, cheese, bacon, timber.

✅ In summary:
The Cool Temperate Western Margin Climate (British Type) is marked by mild winters, cool summers, evenly distributed rainfall, deciduous vegetation, and highly diversified economic activities. It is the heartland of modern industrialization, supports intensive dairying, mixed farming, sheep rearing, and is among the most densely populated and urbanized regions in the world.