Skip to main content
. 2015 Dec 11;5:18018. doi: 10.1038/srep18018

Table 1. Description of the Koppen climate symbols and defining criteria (Peel et al., 2007).

1st 2nd 3rd Description Criteria*
A     Tropical Tcold ≥ 18
  f   - Rainforest Pdry ≥ 60
  m   - Monsoon Not (Af) & Pdry ≥ 100-MAP/25
  w   - Savannah Not (Af) & Pdry < 100-MAP/25
B     Arid MAP < 10 × Pthreshold
  W   - Desert MAP < 5 × Pthreshold
  S   - Steppe MAP ≥ 10 × Pthreshold
    h - Hot MAT ≥ 18
    k - Cold MAT < 18
C     Temperate Thot > 10 & 0 < Tcold < 18
  s   - Dry Summer Psdry < 40 & Psdry < Pwwet/3
  w   - Dry Winter Psdry < Pwwet/10
  f   - Without dry season Not (Cs) or (Cw)
    a - Hot Summer Thot ≥ 22
    b - Warm Summer Not (a) & Tmon10 ≥ 4
    c - Cold Summer Not (a or b) & 1 ≤ Tmon10 < 4
D     Cold Thot > 10 & Tcold ≤ 0
  s   - Dry Summer Psdry < 40 & Psdry < Pwwet/3
  w   - Dry Winter Psdry < Pwwet/10
  f   - Without dry season Not (Ds) or (Dw)
    a - Hot Summer Thot ≥ 22
    b - Warm Summer Not (a) & Tmon10 ≥ 4
    c - Cold Summer Not (a, b or d)
    d - Very Cold Winter Not (a or b) & Tcold < -38
E     Polar Thot < 10
  T   - Tundra Thot > 0
  F   - Frost Thot ≤ 0

*The first letters (A to E) refer to the broad climate types. The second letters (f, m, w/W and s/S) are the subsequent precipitation conditions. Because no precipitation differentiations are given for the polar climates (E), the letters T and F are defined for the temperature conditions. The third letters are temperature classifications (h) and (k) for the arid climates (B) and (a) to (d) for the warm temperate and snow climates (C) and (D). MAP = mean annual precipitation, MAT = mean annual temperature, Thot = temperature of the hottest month, Tcold = temperature of the coldest month, Tmon10 = number of months where the temperature is above 10 °C, Pdry = precipitation of the driest month, Psdry = precipitation of the driest month in summer, Pwdry = precipitation of the driest month in winter, Pswet = precipitation of the wettest month in summer, Pwwet = precipitation of the wettest month in winter, Pthreshold = varies according to the following rules (if 70% of the MAP occurs in winter, then Pthreshold = 2 × MAT; if 70% of the MAP occurs in summer, then Pthreshold = 2 × MAT + 28, otherwise Pthreshold = 2 × MAT + 14). Summer (winter) is defined as the warmer (cooler) six month period of ONDJFM and AMJJAS.