What is a Tropical Climate?

[Mhc1985]

Originally Posted by Ed's Mountain

I'm not sure a definition based strictly on temperature and precipitation thresholds is sufficient.

To me, a tropical climate is one that is continuously under the influence of synoptic-scale tropical systems. That is to say, the weather is determined by entities such as trade winds, the ICTZ, etc., and it is immune to extra-tropical phenomena such as cold fronts and wave cyclones.

As such I could see a wide variety of different temperature and precipitation regimes being fully tropical.

I like this approach, which is closer to the option C, “A low latitude climate above a specific precipitation threshold, no matter the temperature”. In such case, the necessary influence of the ITCZ translates into at least a significant amount of precipitation, whereas diversity of elevation can provide a wide range of temperatures.

Under this precept, we can say that any place devoid of tropical convergence has not a tropical climate (i.e. any hot desert, which is ruled by the subtropical highs), whereas any place who does have tropical influence during the high-sun season but its influenced by extratropical convergence the rest of the year has not a tropical climate either (i.e. the Eastern side of landmasses just above the tropics).

So tropical climates branch off in two directions: dry subtropical climates ("west side" climates) and wet subtropical climates ("east side" climates).

[Isleofpalms85]

I would tend to agree with other CD members that tropical means little or no difference between the seasons or if there is seasonal differences it would tend to be variations in precipitation rather than temperatures aka a tropical rainforest tropical monsoon or tropical wet and dry climates.

[klimkin199]

For me, tropical climate should have at least 10°C average lows of coldest month and 25°C average highs of hottest month

[psyche_da_mike24]

Originally Posted by wawa1992

I would say B, and a coldest month of 18 C / 64 F or warmer seems to be a good cut-off for tropical. I would call something with a coldest month of about 24 C / 75 F or warmer "equatorial" or "super-tropical" or something like that. These climates are hot year-round.

As for precipitation, I've always said that the B climate (arid) grouping under Koppen is unnecessary and precipitation should be considered a classification off of temperature. For instance, a tropical desert climate would be a climate with a tropical temperature regime, but arid. (Same with subtropical desert, humid continental desert, etc).

https://www.city-data.com/forum/weat...on-system.html

This is the basic idea behind my classification system.