Advanced climate layer

Köppen–Geiger Climate Classification Map

Explore global climate types derived from monthly temperature and precipitation patterns during 2011–2025. Köppen–Geiger classes summarize broad thermal and moisture regimes in a compact, widely used code.

Explore Interactive Map General methodology
Source
ERA5-Land
Climate period
2011–2025 climatological classification
Representation
Köppen–Geiger class codes

What this map shows

Each grid cell receives a Köppen–Geiger code such as Cfb, BSk, or Aw. The first letter identifies a major climate group—tropical, arid, temperate, continental, or polar—while later letters describe precipitation seasonality and summer or winter temperature characteristics.

MetriClima applies the Köppen–Geiger classification criteria described by Peel, Finlayson and McMahon (2007) to its own ERA5-Land-derived climatology. This is not a vegetation map, biome boundary, weather forecast, or direct copy of the published Peel et al. station-based map.

How it is calculated

MetriClima builds 12-month temperature and precipitation climatologies for 2011–2025 and applies the Köppen–Geiger classification thresholds described by Peel, Finlayson and McMahon (2007).

The classification evaluates annual and seasonal precipitation, coldest- and warmest-month temperatures, the number of months above 10 °C, aridity thresholds, and precipitation seasonality. MetriClima defines summer as the warmer of April–September and October–March, using latitude only to resolve exact ties.

Data source

MetriClima processes ERA5-Land surface data on the 0.1° latitude–longitude download grid. The physical spacing of this geographic grid varies with latitude. ERA5-Land is a land-surface reanalysis dataset providing consistent hourly climate variables.

ERA5-Land supplies the monthly temperature and precipitation inputs; MetriClima derives the classification codes from those inputs. ERA5-Land does not provide the Köppen–Geiger classes directly.

Provider
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), produced by ECMWF

Climate period and representation

2011–2025 climatological classification

The class reflects monthly climatology for this 15-year period. Locations near a threshold may receive a different class when another period or dataset is used.

Köppen–Geiger class codes

The map uses 30 classes across the A, B, C, D, and E climate groups. The legend expands each code into a descriptive climate name.

How to interpret the map

Use the class to understand the broad combination of heat, cold, aridity, and precipitation seasonality at a location. It is more informative than annual temperature or precipitation alone, but less detailed than examining the underlying monthly series.

A boundary indicates a threshold in the classification rules, not necessarily an abrupt change on the ground. Neighboring classes can grade into one another across landscapes.

Locations close to a classification threshold should be interpreted with particular caution, because small differences in climate data can change the assigned class.

Applications

  • Broad climate regionalization and comparison
  • Providing context for ecology, agriculture, and settlement patterns
  • Summarizing seasonal temperature–precipitation combinations
  • Screening locations before examining more specific climate metrics

Limitations

  • A single code compresses twelve months of temperature and precipitation into a categorical label.
  • Classifications can vary with reference period, source dataset, and spatial resolution, especially near transition zones.
  • The classification does not explicitly represent elevation, soils, land cover, extreme events, or local microclimates.

Explore this map by country

Open Köppen–Geiger Climate Classification for a country to start the same interactive map focused on that geography.

Africa (54)
Asia (50)
Australia (14)
Europe (47)
North America (24)
South America (12)