Cfa (Humid Subtropical) vs Csa (Meditteranean) . Which one iis best for civilization?
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to be fair though, a hot humid summer can grow enough food for alot more people than cfa but the people wont be as comfortable. its pretty well documented how high temps PLUS high humidity negatively affects the human mind and body.
The lack of humidity is most likely the main reason why some people prefer a mediterranean summer than a humid stormy summer
Last edited by OfficialMCC; 04-27-2019 at 02:52 PM..
to be fair though, a hot humid summer can grow enough food for alot more people than cfa but the people wont be as comfortable. its pretty well documented how high temps PLUS high humidity negatively affects the human mind and body.
The lack of humidity is most likely the main reason why some people prefer a mediterranean summer than a humid stormy summer
The ability to grow food and feed more people is what counts imo. A larger population in the older times means a larger work force, more great minds, more innovation, etc. This would develop the civilization and in turn provide a more comfortable life.
The climate's direct effect on humans is hardly a factor in choosing the ideal location for a civilization. Manchuria is pretty densely populated due to it's good soil for agriculture despite its harsh climate, for example. Besides, a lot of ancient civilizations in places with dry summers have more oppressive heat than typical humid subtropical climates, such as the Babylon (Iraq) as well as Egypt to a large extent.
Based on the ancient civilizations would say Csa provided there is irrigation and nearby bodies of water.
But Cwa or mild highland subtropical climates also.
It's worth bearing in mind that one of the reasons that has been given for the long term endurance of ancient civilizations in the Mediterranean and near East is that they relied on very different weather systems. Egypt gets its water from the summer monsoon rains falling on the Ethiopian Highlands mainly, Mesopotamia from spring snow melt and the Mediterranean basin from winter rains. If one failed, it was possible to import food from a neighbour that relied on a different weather pattern.
Csa simply because of the consistency of dry and sunny weather in the warmest season. If one loves summer and both Cfa and Csa summers then Aw/As climates gets the best of both worlds. The best of dry and wet subtropical
Arguably hot deserts are where civilization began (Egypt and Mesopotamia), with the caveat of having rivers available for irrigation. Perhaps Mesopotamia was a bit less arid back then though? The Mediterranean climates have of course done well too, as well as Persia (Mediterranean/arid). But Ancient China has done very well and is humid subtropical/humid continental. For most of the history of human civilization, the largest concentrations of population have been either in Ancient China or in South Asia (humid subtropical/tropical/desert). Each of these regions have typically held about 25% of the world's population, which is comparable to the Roman Empire at its peak (the Mediterranean was probably closer to 10% for most of its history).
I don't think "dangerous animals" of the subtropical areas are that much of a factor in whether civilization can exist.
The oceanic influenced Cfa climates might be ideal assuming diseases are controlled, but they're relatively uncommon compared to the more continental influenced Cfa of North America and East Asia.
The Mediterranean climate can be used for agriculture, but the dry summers are still an important constraint especially for grain, especially without irrigation. Much of Rome's grain came from Egypt's irrigated Nile Valley/Delta. Agriculture in California is heavily dependent on irrigation too, and much of it comes from parts of the Central Valley that are semi-arid, rather than Mediterranean.
On the other hand, subtropical monsoon climates are great for rice, and may have the option of wheat in the winter (ex in subtropical India). Non-monsoon subtropical climates are great for corn. Warm continental is good for corn too, and cool continental for wheat.
Agriculture in the Mediterranean is more heavily oriented towards trees that are better able to tap into deeper soil moisture and store water during the dry summers than annual plants. Trees like figs, olives, citrus, almonds. However, subtropical climates can grow many fruit and nut trees too, such as citrus, pecans, walnuts, chestnut, hazelnut, peaches, apricots, persimmons and more, depending on what kind of subtropical climate it is.
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