Köppen-Geiger climate classification

Climate zones group regions with similar climatic conditions. The most prominent classifications was created by Vladimir Peter Köppen and refined by Rudolf Geiger. The so-called Köppen-Geiger climate classification divides the Earth into five distinct climate zones, which can be further divided into sub-categories. Individual climate zones are distinguished by a three-letter code.

Calculating Mean Monthly Values ​​for Vienna

Similar to other climatological analyses, raw measurements are not suitable for this classification. For a correct evaluation, data must be averaged over a longer period. This example is based on a 30-year period (1991 to 2020) from the Vienna-Hohe Warte weather station.

Since the Köppen-Geiger climate classification relies exclusively on the evaluation of the monthly mean temperature and monthly precipitation, the following parameters are downloaded on a monthly basis from the GeoSphere Austria DataHub: - t ... daily mean air temperature [°C]
- R ... monthly precipitation sum [mm]

Averaging Results

The average values ​​for both parameters during the 30-year period, i.e. January 1991 to December 2020, are are listed in Table 1.1.

The annual averages of precipitation sum and temperature account for Rsum = 674.4 mm and Tmean = 11.0 °C, respectively.

Appendix / Images

Table 1.1: Monthly mean values ​​of temperature and precipitation for the Vienna-Hohe Warte station, based on monthly data from the years 1991 to 2020.
Table 1.1: Monthly mean values ​​of temperature and precipitation for the Vienna-Hohe Warte station, based on monthly data from the years 1991 to 2020.

Classification of the Vienna-Hohe Warte Station – Part 1

This chapter is based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. As mentioned in Kottek et al. [2006], the classification comprises five climate zones (A to E). These must be checked in a defined order to determine a locations climate zone (E-B-A-C-D). Definitions are given in table 2.1 and 2.2, respectively.

For the basic classification of the station, the following parameters are required. These are derived from the data in Table 1.1 (see Stage 1):

  • mean annual temperature:
    • Tann = 11.0 °C
  • mean temperature of the coldest month:
    • Tmin = 0.8 °C
  • mean temperature of the warmest month:
    • Tmax = 21.4 °C
  • total annual precipitation:
    • Pann = 674.4 mm
  • aridity parameter:
    • Pth = 36.0 mm

Using the definitions from Table 2.2, the climate zone can now be determined. The Vienna-Hohe Warte station meets only the criterion for zone C. Accordingly, this location belongs to the warm-temperate climate.

Appendix / Images

Table 2.1: Definitions of climate zones according to Köppen & Geiger (Kottek et al., [2006]).
Table 2.1: Definitions of climate zones according to Köppen & Geiger (Kottek et al., [2006]).
Table 2.2: Definition of the aridity parameter (Kottek et al., [2006]).
Table 2.2: Definition of the aridity parameter (Kottek et al., [2006]).

Climate zone subcategories

Individual climate zones can be further divided into subcategories based on temperature and precipitation. The definitions for these subcategories are provided in Table 2.1 and Table 3.1, respectively.

For Zone C, the classification requires the following precipitation parameters:

  • minimum and maximum total precipitation during the summer half-year (May–October):
    • Psmin = 47.1 mm
    • Psmax = 79.0 mm
  • minimum and maximum total precipitation during the winter half-year (November–April):
    • Pwmin = 38.1 mm
    • Pwmax = 51.6 mm

Furthermore, classification is based on the following temperature parameters:

  • annual average temperature:
    • Tann = 11.0 °C
  • monthly mean temperatures:
    • Tmon (see Table 1.1)
  • mean temperature of the coldest month:
    • Tmin = 0.8 °C

Based on the definitions in Table 2.1 and Table 3.1, the Vienna Hohe Warte station is assigned to subcategories f and b, respectively. The full designation of the climate zone is therefore Cfb – Warm temperate climate, fully humid with warm summers.

Appendix / Images

Table 3.1: Definitions of the subcategories for climate zones B (h & k), C and D (a–d) (Kottek et al., [2006]).
Table 3.1: Definitions of the subcategories for climate zones B (h & k), C and D (a–d) (Kottek et al., [2006]).

Datasets

Messstationen Monatsdaten v1
API-DOKU Web-UI

Dieser Datensatz beinhaltet Monatswerte einer Vielzahl meteorologischer bzw. klimatologischer Parameter. Für alle Klima-Beobachtungstermine ist der Monatsmittelwert der entsprechenden Größen angegeben. Die drei Klima-Beobachtungstermine (I, II,...

Temperature, Humidity, Radiation, Wind, Precipitation, Cloud cover, Pressure, Snow, Sunshine, Visibility, Observed weather phenomena, Thunderstorm