Definition: Climate can be considered to be the “average weather.” The map opposite shows climate zones based on the system developed by Wladimir Köppen and Rudolf Geiger in the early 1900s. The system classifies land surface into five major climate zones (designated by uppercase letters) based on annual and monthly mean temperature and precipitation. Further subdivisions (designated by lowercase letters) are based on seasonal patterns of temperature and precipitation. The data used to derive the map covers the period 1950–2000. The Köppen classification and variations on it remain widely popular.
Trends: The map opposite is based on annual and monthly climate data over a 50-year period and does not consider non-seasonal trends in climate. Climate change is a controversial subject and despite general consensus about the existence of global warming, future trends and impacts on local climate and weather is less easily agreed. However, attempts to model the effect of global warming on climate using the Köppen classification have estimated a shift between major climate classes of around 3% during the 21st century. Prediction of how these changes might affect infectious diseases is also difficult, as discussed below.
Significance for infectious diseases:
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