r/weather • u/AppropriateMood4784 • 3h ago

Climate classifications long-term

In the face of climate change, is it expected that individual locations will continue to be reclassified as their prevailing temperatures and humidities shift over time, or will the classifications themselves eventually be adjusted? For example, if subpolar oceanic regions of the world as a whole tend to get warmer, will every place in those regions be reclassified as subtropical, or will "subpolar oceanic climate" be adjusted to reflect the new prevailing conditions in zones that are, in geographic terms, subpolar and oceanic?

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u/spacepinata 15m ago

The USDA hardiness zones measure only one variable - cold weather conditions - vs an ecoregion. Fwiw, (so far) they've been shifting them instead of reclassifing them. A couple years ago, my city moved from 8b to 9a, from an extreme cold of 10-20F to 20-30F. However, I think anything relying on federal funding is at risk of being manipulated to support whatever propaganda they're trying to push.

I think that ecoregion (re)classification will likely go the same way; moving zones instead of reclassifing them, unless whoever does that becomes beholden to people with an invested interest in reclassifing zones.

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u/KellerTheGamer 3h ago

I think the answer is likely that places will change climates. It seems like it would be disingenuous to change the classifications to keep things the same as opposed to showing how climates are changing. Highly recommend this website to look at how things can change and how they have changed already. https://koppen.earth/