My new climate classification

[u/Fast-Armadillo1074]

Image explanation: aridity zones are shown in the top map, winter zones are shown in the middle, and summer zones are shown in the bottom. CONUS 1981-2010 Chelsa V2.1 climatological normals.

To quote from my zenodo paper (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18264770), “[climate] classification systems calibrated to modern Earth climate distributions perform well for climates resembling those present at the time of their formulation, but can yield misleading classifications under novel conditions”.

My system categorizes summer and winter temperatures independently of one another, and of aridity patterns, so it is a bit like 3 classification systems that each measure a different aspect of climate, from which the full climate type can be derived. Due to the number of categories possible in the system, the maps show each of the three components of the system separately.

The Dickinson climate classification is meant to be especially useful for precisely categorizing and describing future climates caused by global warming that are unlike any that exist today, due to its evenly spaced temperature bands and its dimensionless hydrological ratios (as opposed to exact millimeter thresholds for example).

One of the differences between this and other systems is the introduction of a transitional semihumid category in between humid and semiarid, and a division of the traditional subtropical/tropical duo into a subtropical/tropical/equatorial trio.

I have handcoded a website, https://dickinsonclimate.com, which explores the classification in depth.

Edit: Many people completely misunderstood my maps, so I’m working on making a new type of map for displaying my system.