Hot-climate regions

G. V. Ustimenko-Bakumovsky

According to G. Walter, the hot-climate regions comprise the following climatic zones: (1) equatorial, between 10° SL and 10° NL, with abundant rainfall (up to 2,000 millimeters and more per year), high air humidity (over 80%), and elevated mean temperatures (above 20 °C) which remain stable in different seasons; there are usually two rainy seasons in this zone which terminate for a short time; (2) tropical, to the north and south of the equatorial zone, about 30° NL and SL, with lower rainfall than in the previous zone (800-1,600 millimeters per year), lower air humidity (70-80%) and clearly distinct seasons, i.e. a rainy period in summer and an arid cool period (‘winter’); the temperature in the cold season almost never falls below 16 °C; (3) dry subtropical, with low rainfall and rather great seasonal fluctuations of temperatures; in summer they reach 40 °C while in winter they drop to 10 °C (light frosts are occasional in some years); (4) transitional, with a season of winter rains. The summer is very hot, and in winter the temperature goes down to 8 °C. Light early frosts occur more frequently than in the dry subtropical zone (the Mediterranean region, California in the USA, the south and south-west of Latin America).

Fonte: Ustimenko-Bakumovsky, G. V. 1983. Plant growth in the tropics and subtropics. Moscou, Mir.