Tropical
Hot year-round climates including rainforest, monsoon, and savanna regimes.
Interactive climate classification atlas
Köppen-Geiger Climate Map
Explore global Köppen-Geiger climate zones from 1901-2020 and CMIP6 projections through 2099. Switch historical periods, compare future SSP scenarios, and click any location to inspect its climate class.
What This Map Shows
The map displays the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system: a compact way to describe long-term climate using temperature, precipitation, seasonality, and aridity. Each raster cell is assigned a class such as Af, BWh, Cfa, Dfb, or ET. Those short codes summarize broad climate regimes, from tropical rainforest and hot desert to humid continental and tundra.
Historical Periods and Future Scenarios
The shipped historical layers cover 1901-1930, 1931-1960, 1961-1990, and 1991-2020, with 1991-2020 used as the default view. Future layers cover 2041-2070 and 2071-2099 for SSP1-1.9, SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, SSP4-3.4, SSP4-6.0, and SSP5-8.5. SSP labels represent shared socioeconomic pathways used in CMIP6 climate projections; they are scenarios, not predictions.
How to Use the Explorer
Use the period selector to move between historical windows and future SSP scenarios. Toggle major climate groups or individual classes to focus the map, adjust opacity against the basemap, and click any land location to inspect the local class code, class name, description, examples, and approximate place name. The app is designed for quick exploration rather than statistical analysis or local-scale climate assessment.
Data Source and Citation
Climate data is based on Beck et al. (2023), High-resolution (1 km) Köppen-Geiger maps for 1901-2099 based on constrained CMIP6 projections , published in Scientific Data. The source maps are available through GloH2O and figshare and are described in the project README as CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Beck et al. Place-name lookup in popups uses OpenStreetMap Nominatim.
Köppen-Geiger Climate Classes
Köppen-Geiger classes are organized into five major groups. The first letter identifies the broad climate family; later letters describe precipitation seasonality and summer or winter heat.
Arid
Desert and semi-arid climates where precipitation is limited relative to potential evaporation.
Temperate
Mild mid-latitude climates including Mediterranean, oceanic, humid subtropical, and highland types.
Continental
Cold-winter climates with strong seasonal temperature ranges, including humid continental and subarctic types.
Polar
Tundra and ice-cap climates where warmth is too limited for tree growth or sustained melting seasons.
| Code | Name | Group | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Af | Tropical rainforest | Tropical | Hot temperatures in every month with abundant rainfall and no dry season. |
| BWh | Hot desert | Arid | Very dry climates with mean annual temperature above 18 C. |
| Cfa | Humid subtropical | Temperate | Hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters with precipitation year-round. |
| Dfb | Warm-summer humid continental | Continental | Warm summers, cold winters, and precipitation in all seasons. |
| ET | Tundra | Polar | The warmest month stays above 0 C but below 10 C, limiting tree growth. |
Limitations
Climate zones summarize long-term average conditions, not current weather or a forecast. Future layers are scenario- and model-based projections, not certainties. Local microclimates, elevation effects, coastlines, islands, urban heat, and class boundaries may differ from the gridded map. Use the map as a global explorer and citation aid, not as a substitute for local climate observations or engineering design data.
FAQ
What is a Köppen-Geiger climate zone?
It is a climate class based on long-term temperature, precipitation, seasonality, and aridity thresholds.
What Köppen climate zone is my city?
Open the map, zoom to the city, and click its location. The popup reports the active layer's climate code and name.
What do codes like Cfa, BWh, Dfb, and Af mean?
The first letter gives the major climate group. Later letters describe dryness, seasonality, and summer or winter heat.
What do SSP scenarios mean?
SSPs are shared socioeconomic pathways used with CMIP6 climate projections to explore possible future emissions and forcing.
Can I use or cite this map?
Cite the underlying Beck et al. (2023) dataset for the climate maps and follow the attribution terms described by the source.
Why might this differ from another climate map?
Maps can differ by source period, resolution, method, projection scenario, coastline handling, and classification thresholds.
Is this a weather forecast?
No. The map shows long-term climate classes, not daily weather or short-term forecasts.