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Same planet, very different weather

Climate zones: why the world comes in five flavours.

Rainforests that get rain every month, deserts that freeze at night, a forest whose name means “land of the little sticks”. Here’s how scientists sort the world’s climates into zones, what the Köppen letters mean, and why London is so much milder than Canada at the same latitude. Every fact is checked against the Met Office, NOAA and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Build a climate What’s a climate zone?

The whole Earth seen from space: Africa and Arabia under swirls of white cloud, with Antarctica at the bottom
The Blue Marble, photographed by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972.Picture: NASA, Apollo 17 crew, Public domain, Commons
5main Köppen groups, A to E Met Office: Climate zones
1884Köppen first developed his system Met Office: Climate zones
30years of weather to define a climate Met Office: What is climate?
¼of Earth’s land is arid or semi-arid Encyclopaedia Britannica: Köppen climate classification
The standout: build a climate

The Climate Maker

Slide the temperatures and the rain, and watch the Köppen code appear, with every step of the rules spelled out. Then switch to Challenge and try to build a hot desert, a tundra or the UK’s own Cfb.

The Maker is our own code. The rules come from Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Köppen table: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Köppen climate classification Encyclopaedia Britannica: Köppen climate classification Encyclopaedia Britannica: Köppen climate classification Encyclopaedia Britannica: Köppen climate classification

The short version

Climate zones are areas with distinct climates. They can follow weather patterns, latitude, or communities of plants and animals. Met Office: Climate zones

Köppen sorts climates into five main groups: tropical (A), dry (B), temperate (C), continental (D) and polar (E). Met Office: Climate zones Each group is then split up, first by when the rain falls in the year and then by temperature. Met Office: Climate zones

Much of the UK is Cfb: temperate (C), with no dry season (f) and a warm summer (b). Met Office: Climate zones

Roughly, the zones run by latitude: tropical near the equator, dry just north and south of the tropics, temperate beyond, and polar only in the Arctic and Antarctic. Met Office: Climate zones

Simplified drawing of Earth striped in bands: tropical A at the equator, dry B either side, temperate and continental C and D in the middle latitudes, and polar E at the top and bottom
Our simplified drawing of the zones in rough latitude belts.Drawing: our own

Explore the zones

What a zone isClimate, weather and microclimates. The Köppen lettersA, B, C, D, E and the rules. Tropical (A)Rainforest, monsoon, savanna. Dry (B)Deserts and steppes. Temperate (C)Mediterranean to drizzly west coasts. Continental (D)Hot summers, hard winters. Polar & mountainTundra, ice caps and highlands. Why zones differSunlight, three cells, the sea. The UK & Isle of ManCfb, westerlies and frost hollows.

Tile pictures are credited on their pages and on the credits page.

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Snow and ice on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro seen from space, above dark slopes and clouds
Kilimanjaro’s icy summit, photographed from the International Space Station.Picture: NASA, ISS astronaut photograph, Public domain, Commons
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Free sample

Free climate zones sample, 9 pages. Pick your paper size:

A4 2.4 MBUS Letter 2.4 MB

Climate zones printables

Fact-checked PDFs in A4 and US Letter, sold as instant downloads from the ReallyByte store.

  • Colour the World’s Climate Zones: Map & Colouring Pack

    Blank world and continent maps to colour by zone, a Köppen colour key, latitude-belt maps, a three-cell sheet, and landscape colouring pages for each zone

    $4.99

  • Köppen Code Puzzle Pack: Crosswords, Codes & Climate Logic

    A crossword, a word search, a zone maze, a code-cracker, letter-matching and “classify this climate” logic puzzles, all with answer keys

    $4.99

  • Climate Zone Fact Cards: A to E and Mountains Too

    Twenty-four fact-checked cards: the five Köppen groups, the highland group, the main climate types and four big causes, with the Köppen letters and rules

    $4.49

  • My Climate Log: A 12-Month Weather Record & Köppen Workbook

    Record your own temperatures and rainfall for a year, then follow the Köppen rules step by step to work out your own climate code

    $3.99

  • Around the World in Five Zones: Kids’ Climate Zone Worksheets

    For ages 7 to 11: label the zones, match the landscapes, true or false, climate maths, a maze, colouring, a word search and riddles, with answer keys

    $3.99

  • Climate Zones Poster Set

    Six fact-checked posters: what a climate zone is, the Köppen letters, the three circulation cells, tropical, dry and polar zones

    $3.49
Best value

The Complete Climate Zones Printables Bundle

All six packs plus a guide, A4 and US Letter, in one download.

$12.99