Climate zones of the Earth

In short: The Earth is divided into climate zones determined by solar radiation: tropical, subtropical, temperate, subpolar and polar. Germany lies in the temperate zone.

In more detail: The steeper sunlight falls, the warmer it is. That is why it is hot at the equator and cold at the poles (jahreszeiten-entstehung).

In detail

• Tropics: Warm all year, high rainfall in rainforest, savannas with rainy and dry seasons.
• Subtropics: Hot dry summers, mild winters; deserts (Sahara) and Mediterranean climate.
• Temperate zone: Four seasons, changeable weather, westerly winds.
• Subpolar and polar: Long cold winters, tundra, permafrost, ice deserts.
• Altitude zones: In mountains it gets about 0.6 °C cooler per 100 metres of height.
• Climate change: It slowly shifts the zones (klimawandel-grundlagen, luftdruck-und-wetter).