Climograph
{{Short description|Graphical representation of a location's climate}}
A climograph is a graphical representation of a location's basic climate. Climographs display data for two variables:
- monthly average temperature
- monthly average precipitation.{{cite book|last=Banks|first=James A.|title=United States: Adventures in time and place|year=1997|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0021466153|page=242}}
These are useful tools to quickly describe a location's climate.
Representation
{{climate chart
|38.7|63.9| 0.87
|41.0|67.8| 0.7
|44.6|72.9| 0.7
|50.4|81.1| 0.3
|57.9|90.0| 0.2
|67.8|99.7| 0.2
|73.6|99.3| 2.4
|72.1|96.8| 2.2
|67.5|93.4| 1.7
|56.7|84.4| 1.1
|45.7|72.7| 0.7
|39.7|64.2| 1.1
|float=left
|clear=none
|units=imperial
|source=[http://www.tucson.climatemps.com/temperatures.php]
}}
While temperature is typically visualized using a line, some climographs opt to visualize the data using a bar. This method's advantage allows the climograph to display the average range in temperature (average minimum and average maximum temperatures) rather than a simple monthly average.
Use
The patterns in a climograph describe not just a location's climate but also provide evidence for that climate's relative geographical location. For example, a climograph with a narrow range in temperature over the year might represent a location close to the equator, or alternatively a location adjacent to a large body of water exerting a moderating effect on the temperature range. Meanwhile, a wide range in annual temperature might suggest the opposite. We could also derive information about a site's ecological conditions through a climograph. For example, if precipitation is consistently low year-round, we might suggest the location reflects a desert; if there is a noticeable seasonal pattern to the precipitation, we might suggest the location experiences a monsoon season. When combining the temperature and precipitation patterns together, we have even better clues as to the local conditions. Despite this, a number of local factors contribute to the patterns observed in a particular place; therefore, a climograph is not a foolproof tool that captures all the geographic variation that might exist.
References
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External links
- {{cite web |url=http://www.kyrene.org/staff/ldemos/Launch/India/Climographs/climographs.pdf |title=How to make a Climograph |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724160124/http://www.kyrene.org/staff/ldemos/Launch/India/Climographs/climographs.pdf |archivedate=2011-07-24}}
- https://climatecharts.net/ - Webapplication for generating climographs for places worldwide dynamically.
- [https://climatecharts.net/ ClimateCharts.net] an interactive climate analysis web platform [https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2020.1829112 https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2020.1829112] (Open Access)
- https://climate.mapresso.com/ - Web application for generating climate diagrams for any location on Earth using the free high-resolution CHELSA dataset.
Category:Climate and weather statistics
Category:Meteorological data and networks
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