-Almost a copy from an older post-
Köppen climate classification may be a questionable way to determine climate diversity, as different climate types cover different ranges of climates. For instance Cxc and in a lesser extent Dxc can be stuck in very narrow strips between Cxb, Dxb, ET and even BSk climates, and they may come up in mountain areas where multiple types flourish within very small areas without them representing a truly massive diversity of environments.
On the other hand, the B climates are oversimplified into a four pieces cake and each part often covers very dissimilar climates (this post, for instance, mentions three unrelated BSk climates:
Chos Malal,
La Quiaca and
RÃo Gallegos).
It’s also frequently seen the occurrence of small isolated spots of a certain climate type that marginally manages to exist in an area, adding up a whole climate type, without representing any of the actual variability this climate type can achieve.
Anyway, if briefly explained, Köppen may provide a quick outlook onto the variety and boundaries inside a territory. It’s common to find out that some types may exist but lack any known stations that confirm them. Sometimes it’s easy to deduce either the presence or absence of a climate type; sometimes it can be inconclusive as long as new measurements weren’t taken.
The following extract counts every Köppen climate type and mention and analyses their presence in
Argentina. It follows Beck et al (BXh/BXk boundary in 18°C for the average temperature, C/D boundary in 0°C for the coldest month, etc.).
Af – Absent. Northeastern Formosa gets less than 60 mm in their driest months; nowhere in Misiones province is the coldest month warmer than 16.5°C.
Am – Very likely to be found in northeastern Formosa province, in the border with Paraguay, but no station known with this climate type in the country.
Aw – Unlikely to occur; indicated in some maps for a small spot in Northeastern Salta province, probably after extrapolated data. The closest station to the spot,
Santa Victoria Este, falls short in both temperature (by 0.6°C) and precipitation (by 85 mm). It’s not totally impossible, though, for the required thresholds to be reached nearby.
BSh – Common in lowlands of Northwestern Argentina, i.e.
La Rioja.
BWh – Found in some basins of Northwestern Argentina, west of BSh areas, i.e.
Tinogasta. They are usually close to the BWk types, with no places where average temperature surpasses 20°C.
BSk – Found throughout Western and Southern Argentina, surrounding the BWk type, i.e.
La Quiaca and
RÃo Gallegos.
BWk – Widespread in Western and Southern Argentina, i.e
Neuquén.
Cfa – Widespread in the northeast quarter of the country, i.e.
Buenos Aires.
Cfb – Mostly present in Buenos Aires province, where it develops as an oceanization of the Eastern subtropical climates once the continent shrinks towards the south, i.e.
Mar del Plata.
Cfc – Present in Tierra del Fuego (such as Ushuaia City -borderline in the airport-) and maybe various isolated spots in mainland Patagonia and Mendoza province.
Cwa – Found in two main areas located in Central Argentina (i.e.
Córdoba) and the lowlands of the northwest next to the Andes (i.e.
Tucumán).
Cwb – Contiguous to Cwa but in higher elevations towards the west (i.e.
Salta).
Cwc – Found in small patches in the Eastern slopes of the Northwest Andes and the highlands of San Luis and Córdoba mountains, such as Pampa de Achala, above 2200 m.
Csa – Possibly absent. Borderline in the old BSk station of
Chos Malal. There is a small possibility for this climate to marginally exist in some valleys of northwestern Neuquén province and the extreme south of Mendoza province, in forms very close to the BSk and Csb triple point.
Csb – Typical from the Andean region from Mendoza to Santa Cruz provinces, i.e.
Bariloche.
Csc – Expected to be found in a slim altitudinal strip, just above the Csb climates and below Dsc/ET climates, as long as annual ranges are low, which is fairly common in Patagonia, especially in mountain slopes. For instance, between
Bariloche (830 m) and
Cerro Catedral station (1950 m). No station known to have this climate in the country; it exists in the frontier town of Balmaceda, Chile. Possible in Mendoza province, although bigger annual ranges make the altitudinal transition Csb > Dsb > Dsc more likely.
Dfa – Absent, far from occurring.
Dfb – It may exist in small mountain spots in Mendoza province, just west of the highly unusual Cfb
Valle de Uco, where mountains quickly rise to above 4000 m.
Dfc – Found in Tierra del Fuego (i.e.
RÃo Grande) and maybe various isolated spots in mainland Patagonia and Mendoza province. In all cases, it’s a marginal appearance far from the stereotypical form of this climate, being very close to the Cfc, Csc and BSk types.
Dwa – Absent, far from occurring.
Dwb – Very unlikely to exist around the Cwb/Cwc/Dwc pockets of high eastern slopes of the Northwest.
Dwc – Possible in small pockets in the highlands of Córdoba Mountains and the Northwest Andes, especially in the Eastern slopes of Aconquija and Ambato Mountains. For instance, west of the Cwb station
Potrero del Clavillo, where Aconquija Mountains rise to above 5000 m.
Dsa – Absent, far from occurring.
Dsb – Found in mountainous pockets of Western Mendoza and Neuquén provinces, i.e.
Las Leñas. Likely present in Western San Juan province and maybe south of Neuquén.
Dsc – Found in the Andes from San Juan to Santa Cruz provinces, i.e.
Valle de los Patos. It usually occupies the highlands of the Mediterranean pattern region of the country, below the ET line.
Dsd,
Dfd,
Dwd – Absent, far from occurring.
ET – Widespread in high altitude regions across the country, i.e.
Cristo Redentor. It reaches sea level in Tierra del Fuego, i.e.
Tolhuin (not coastal).
EF – Widespread in the mountain tops throughout the Andes. Aconcagua summit, at 6960 m, is estimated to average -14/-15°C in the warmest month.
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Both maps are taken from Wikipedia.
