Köppen Scheme of Climate Classification
Geography › El Niño and Climate Classification · Topic 9.4
The Köppen scheme, devised by the German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen from 1900 and revised later with Rudolf Geiger, classifies climates using monthly temperature and precipitation. It has five major groups, A tropical humid, B dry, C warm temperate, D cold snow-forest and E polar, with letters for rainfall and temperature, and its link with natural vegetation makes it the most widely used system.
6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · El Niño and Climate Classification
At a Glance
- Founder Wladimir Köppen, from 1900
- Basis Monthly temperature and rainfall
- Groups A, B, C, D, E (plus H, highland)
- Link Natural vegetation
- Alternatives Thornthwaite, Trewartha
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: El Niño and Climate Classification
Where Does It Fit?
This is the fourth topic of the category on El Niño and climate classification. The previous topics explained the Pacific and the Indian Ocean oscillations, and this one begins the system used to group the world’s climates. The next three topics describe the groups in turn, beginning with the tropical humid climates. Previous topic: La Niña and El Niño Modoki. Next topic: Tropical Humid Climates (Group A).
What Is the Köppen Scheme and Why Is It Used?
In short: Köppen classified climates by temperature and rainfall because plants respond to those two things.
Wladimir Köppen was a climatologist and a botanist who noticed that natural vegetation is the best expression of the climate of a place. He therefore chose the temperature and rainfall limits that match the boundaries of vegetation zones, and he first presented the scheme in 1900, then revised it in 1918 and 1936, and later with Rudolf Geiger. The scheme is empirical: it uses only the monthly average temperature and precipitation, which are easy to measure, so it can be applied to any station. It has been updated with modern data, and remains the standard way to describe world climates. Other schemes give more weight to causes, such as the system of Thornthwaite, which uses the balance of precipitation and evaporation, or the system of Trewartha, who modified the Köppen scheme to reduce the size of the humid temperate group.
What Are the Five Groups and Their Criteria?
| Group | Name | Criterion |
|---|---|---|
| A | Tropical humid | Temperature of the coolest month 18 degrees Celsius or above; no winter |
| B | Dry climates | Evaporation exceeds precipitation; dryness is more important than temperature |
| C | Warm temperate (mild mid-latitude) | Coldest month between minus 3 and 18 degrees; warmest month above 10 degrees |
| D | Cold snow-forest (continental) | Coldest month below minus 3 degrees; warmest month above 10 degrees |
| E | Polar | Warmest month below 10 degrees |
| H | Highland | Climate changes with altitude; sometimes added as a sixth group |
The groups A, C, D and E are set by temperature, and B by moisture. The tropical, warm temperate and cold groups are all humid. This is the basis of the next topics: Tropical Humid Climates (Group A), Dry and Warm Temperate Climates (Groups B and C) and Cold Snow-Forest and Polar Climates (Groups D and E).
What Do the Letter Codes Mean?
Each group is divided with small letters, usually the second letter for the precipitation pattern and the third for the temperature.
- Precipitation: f means no dry season; m means monsoon, with a short dry season; w means dry winter; s means dry summer; W means desert; S means steppe or semi-arid.
- Temperature: h means hot (annual mean above 18 degrees in the dry group); k means cold (below 18 degrees); a means hot summer (warmest month above 22 degrees); b means warm summer; c means cool and short summer; d means very cold winter; T means tundra and F means ice cap.
- Examples: Af is tropical rainforest; Am tropical monsoon; Aw tropical savanna; BWh hot desert; BSk cold steppe; Cfb marine west coast; Cs Mediterranean; Cwa humid subtropical; Df humid continental or taiga; ET tundra; EF ice cap.
Which Köppen Types Are Found in India?
| Code | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Amw | Tropical monsoon with a short dry season | Western coast south of Goa |
| As | Tropical monsoon with a dry summer | Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu |
| Aw | Tropical savanna | Most of the peninsular plateau |
| BShw | Semi-arid steppe, hot, with dry winter | The rain-shadow strip of the western Deccan and Punjab-Haryana |
| BWhw | Hot desert | Western Rajasthan, Thar |
| Cwg | Warm temperate with dry winter | Ganga plain, with the hottest month before the summer solstice |
| Dfc | Cold humid with a short summer | Parts of Arunachal Pradesh |
| E | Polar | High Himalaya |
The Indian types follow the monsoon, as in Mechanism of the Indian Monsoon. The scheme shows how little of India is truly temperate in the strict sense, since most of the country has a hot climate, with the temperate and cold climates found in the mountains.
What Are the Strengths and Limits of the Scheme?
The scheme is simple, uses data available everywhere, and links climate to vegetation and agriculture. It has limits: it uses averages and ignores the daily and seasonal extremes, it does not explain why a climate exists, its boundaries are sharp while nature changes gradually, and it does not consider the wind or the cloud. Researchers have also used it to map climate change. High-resolution maps built from recent data show that large areas of the world have shifted to other Köppen types in the last decades, with dry climates and tropical climates expanding and polar climates shrinking. As an analytical point, this makes the Köppen map a good low-cost indicator for the effect of warming on regions, and shows that climate zones are not fixed.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Core topic Basis of world climates
- Application Indian climate types
- Climate change Shifting zones
What Came Next?
The next topic describes the tropical humid climates of Group A. Next topic: Tropical Humid Climates (Group A).
Key People and Terms
- Köppen scheme Empirical climate classification
- Group A Tropical humid
- Group B Dry
- Group E Polar
- Thornthwaite Alternative scheme based on moisture balance
- Highland climate Altitude-controlled climate
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Five groups: A, B, C, D, E.
- A: coolest month 18 degrees or above.
- E: warmest month below 10 degrees.
- f no dry season, w dry winter, s dry summer, m monsoon.
- Most of the peninsula is Aw.
Do Not Confuse With
- C and D groups Coldest month above or below minus 3 degrees
- Köppen and Thornthwaite Temperature and rainfall versus moisture balance
- Aw and Am Savanna versus monsoon type
Memory Hook
A is always hot, B is dry, C is mild, D is snowy, E is ice: f, m, w, s say when it rains.
Mains Angle
Questions ask to apply the scheme to India. These points add depth.
- Basis Vegetation-linked limits
- India Mostly A and B with Cwg
- Limit Averages and static zones
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Describe the Köppen scheme of climate classification and discuss its application to the Indian subcontinent.”
How to Answer
- Scheme Groups and codes.
- Criteria Temperature and rainfall.
- India Amw, As, Aw, BWhw, Cwg.
- Limits Static and descriptive.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Köppen scheme of climate classification?
The Köppen scheme is an empirical classification of world climates by Wladimir Köppen, based on average monthly temperature and precipitation. It groups climates into five major types, A tropical humid, B dry, C warm temperate, D cold snow-forest and E polar, using letter codes and linking them to natural vegetation.
What are the five major climate groups of Köppen?
The five groups are A, the tropical humid climates with all months above 18 degrees; B, the dry climates where evaporation exceeds rainfall; C, warm temperate; D, cold snow-forest with a very cold winter; and E, polar, where the warmest month is below 10 degrees.
What do the letters f, m, w and s mean in the Köppen scheme?
In the Köppen scheme, f means that there is no dry season, m means a monsoon climate with a short dry season, w means a dry winter and s means a dry summer. These letters follow the group letter and show the seasonal pattern of rainfall.
Which Köppen climate types are found in India?
India has Amw on the western coast, As on the Coromandel coast, Aw on most of the peninsular plateau, BShw and BWhw in the semi-arid and desert west, Cwg in the Ganga plain, Dfc in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, and E in the high Himalaya.
What are the limitations of the Köppen scheme?
The Köppen scheme uses averages only, ignores extremes and the causes of climate, draws sharp boundaries where nature changes gradually, and does not include wind or cloud. Its zones also shift over time, so a map is only valid for the period of data used.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 In the Köppen scheme, Group A has the coldest month at 18 degrees Celsius or above.
That is the tropical humid group.
2 Köppen group E is the dry climate group.
E is polar; B is dry.
3 The letter w in a Köppen code indicates a dry winter.
As in Cwg and Aw.
4 The Köppen scheme explains the causes of each climate.
It is empirical.
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