Equatorial Climate: Location

and Distribution |
Climatology | Geography
Location of Equatorial Climate:
Equatorial type of climate, also known as tropical rainforest
wet climate or simply Af climate, is located up to 5° to 10°
latitudes on either side of the equator (fig. 39.1) but at some
places it extends up to 15°-25° latitudes mainly along the
eastern margins of the continents. This climatic zone is
subjected to seasonal shifting due to seasonal shifting of
pressure and wind belts consequent upon the northward and
southward migration of the sun.

The equatorial climate is characterized by two major

properties e.g.:
i) Uniformly high temperature throughout the year, and
(ii) Uniformly adequate rainfall throughout the year received
through convective mechanism.
The equatorial climate is found in the following
localities:
(i) The Amazon Basin in South America,
ii) The Congo Basin in Africa,
(iii) Guinea coast in Africa,
(iv) Much of the Indo-Malaysian Region mainly in Java,
Sumatra, Borneo, Malaysia, Singapore and New Guinea,
v) Philippine Islands,
(vi) Eastern central America (parts of Panama, Costarica,
Nicargua, Honduras, Guatemala etc.), some islands in the
Caribbean Sea, western Columbia and eastern Madagascar.
Temperature of Equatorial Climate:
Since mid-day sun is almost overhead throughout the year and
there is little difference between the lengths of day and night
during the year and hence the equatorial region receives
maximum amount of insolation which causes uniformly high
temperature throughout the year as the average monthly
temperature is always more than 18°C.
The mean monthly temperature of most of the places ranges
between 24°C and 27°C. Mean annual temperature is around
20°C but the maximum temperature of the year touches 30°C.
The mean annual range of temperature of island areas ranges
between 0.5°C and 1°C but other areas record annual ranges of
temperature between 2°C to 3°C.
The annual range of temperature of Iquitos (located in Peru
falling in the Amazon Basin, 4°S of the equator) is 2°C.
Similarly, Akassa (located at the mouth of the Niger River,
Africa) records annual range of temperature of 2°C but Para
records less than 2°C as annual range of temperature.
The annual range of temperature becomes minimum over the
oceans. For example, Jaluit, located on Marshall Island in the
central Pacific Ocean records annual range of temperature of
only 0.4°C. Thus, uniformly high temperatures of the
equatorial regions, though lower than the temperatures of the
hot desert climate, becomes unpleasant and injurious to
human beings because of its uniformity and monotony.
The daily range of temperature varying between 5°C and 10°C
is usually far greater than the annual range of temperature.
Usually, mid-day temperature rises to 29°C-34°C and comes
down to 21°C-24°C during nights. Thus, the relatively low
nocturnal temperature becomes uncomfortable to local
people.
This is why nights of the equatorial regions are called winters
of the tropics. The annual range of temperature of Bolobo of
the Belgian Congo is 1°C but the daily range becomes 9°C.
Belam city records daily maximum and minimum
temperatures as 32.8°C and 20.1°C respectively thus
registering diurnal range of 12.7°C.
Similarly, Santaram of the Amazon Basin records 35.5°C and
19.5°C as maximum and minimum daily temperatures and
thus diurnal range of temperature becomes 16.0°C. The
daytime temperature becomes oppressive and unbearable due
to high relative humidity, weak air-circulation, bright sunlight
etc.
The inhabitants of the equatorial regions are so used and
habitual to uniformly high temperatures throughout the year
that they feel immediately even a plight fall in temperature.
They feel cold if temperature falls below 20°C and they burn
wood to ward off relative cold (though there is no winter
season).
Precipitation of Equatorial Climate:
Equatorial regions receive rainfall throughout the year and
thus there is no dry season. Average annual rainfall exceeds
200cm to 250cm. Even the driest month of the year receives
rainfall more than 6cm. Iquitos (Peru), Akassa and Ocean
Island receive 261 cm, 366cm and 213cm of rain per annum
respectively. Though most of the rainfall occurs through
convective mechanism but wherever mountain barrier
becomes effective the amount of rainfall increases
substantially.
For example, annual rainfall reaches 1000cm in the foothill
Zone of Cameroon Mountain in Africa. Most of the annual
rainfall in the equatorial region is received in the form of
convectional rainfall.
The strong daily vertical convective mechanism due to intense
heating of ground surface because of high amount of insola-
tion, horizontal convergence of trade winds forming
intertropical convergence, a fairly large number of
atmospheric disturbances (cyclonic storms) and thun-
derstorms yield heavy rainfall daily throughout the equatorial
regions.
Distribution of Equatorial Climate:
Inspite of high rainfall throughout the year there is no uniform
spatial distribution of rainfall in all parts of equatorial climatic
region. Though no month goes dry but definitely some months
of the year receive more rainfall than the other months. Thus,
the months having more rainfall are called wet months while
the months receiving less rainfall are known as less wet
months.
If the temporal distribution of rainfall in the equatorial regions
is considered carefully it appears that there are two periods of
maximum rainfall and two periods of minimum rainfall in a
year. Normally, April and November receive maximum rainfall
but the period of maximum rainfall varies spatially. For
example, Lagos receives maximum rainfall in May, June and
July amounting to 100cm whereas October records 25cm of
rainfall.
Cloudiness:
Equatorial climate is characterized by fairly large amount of
cloudiness throughout the year. Generally, cumulus type of
clouds dominates daily weather conditions. On an average,
there is about 60 per cent cloudiness daily. The maximum
amount of cloudiness is found between 3 and 4 P.M. daily be-
cause of maximum convective activity during this period but
the sky is generally clear in the morning and at night.
Though the daily period of cloudiness is less in comparison to
high middle latitude areas dominated by temperate cyclones
but there is strong heavy down-pour due to convective
mechanism and resultant convectional rainfall.
Rainfall regime:
Equatorial rainfall is convectional in character wherein there
is daily heavy downpour from cumulo-nimbus clouds. The sky
is usually free from clouds in the early morning. As the sun
rises above the horizon, the amount of insolation received at
the ground surface increases and hence air temperature also
increases accordingly.
Air is heated, becomes light and moves upward and thus
becomes unstable which causes convectional system. The
ascending air cools at the dry adiabatic lapse rate (10°C per
1000m) and the air soon becomes saturated and condensation
level is reached. Clouds are formed.
In the beginning they are cumulus and few in number but as
the day advances, humidity increases due to increasing evapo-
ration, the clouds are thickened and darkness increases. By
afternoon the whole sky becomes overcast with thick cumulo-
nimbus clouds. Thus, heavy rain starts with lightning and
cloud thunder.
As the day draws towards evening the rains become slow and
weak and they completely stop by evening, clouds are cleared
and weather becomes pleasant for some time. The aforesaid
mechanism is repeated daily. Sometimes, this rhythemic daily
mechanism is interrupted as rains continue uninterruptedly
for several days. Continuous rains for 40 hours have been
reported in Ivory Coast (Africa). The most characteristic
feature of equatorial rainfall is that it is usually associated with
strong thunderstorms as about 75 to 150 rainy days are asso-
ciated with them.
Variability of rainfall:
Inspite of very high mean annual rainfall there is temporal
variability in the amount of rainfall and this variability is more
than the variability of temperature. The crops grown in this
climatic region are such that they require more moisture and
thus the year having little less than average annual rainfall is
termed as a drought year because the crops are damaged.
Though the word drought is unfamiliar in equatorial climatic
region but sometimes brief drought conditions are created.
There is also variability of rainfall within a year. For example,
Belem (in the Amazon Basin) receives average annual rainfall
of 239 cm and March receives more rainfall than other
months.
March has 28 rainy days against 10 rainy days in November. It
may be concluded that rainfall in equatorial rainforest climate
is adequate enough to support field crops and luxurious dense
forests. Most of the rains is intercepted by forest canopy and
thus reaches ground surface slowly in the form of aerial
streamlets through leaves, branches and stems of trees and
thus there is maximum infiltration of rainwater.
Recent clearance of rainforests in the equatorial regions in
general and in Amazonia in particular has converted once
forest-converted surface into a bare ground surface which is
subjected to accelerated rate of soil erosion due to daily heavy
rains.
Effects of Climate on Natural Vegetation:
The tropical rainforest or equatorial climatic region accounts
for the largest number of plant species and luxuriant growth of
natural vegetation due to high temperature and high rainfall
throughout the year. The climatic region is characterized by
broad-leaf evergreen dense forests comprising valuable trees
such as mahogany, rosewood, coconut palm, avony, cincona,
plaintain, bamboos, wild rubber, sandal wood etc.
The number of tree species is so large and their diversity is so
great that one hectare of land in the equatorial region accounts
for 40 to 100 species. It may be pointed out that tree species
account for 70 per cent of the total plant species of the tropical
evergreen forests. Creepers or climbers are the second
important members of the rainforests.
The creepers comprising:
(i) Climbers of lower strata,
(ii) Long woody climbers known as ‘lianas’, and
(iii) Epiphytes are so circuitous and highly irregular in form
that it becomes difficult to find out their actual length.
“They ramble through the forest, scaling the highest
emergent trees and frequently looping down to the
ground and then ascending further sections of the
forest”. The climbers so greatly bind several trees and plants
together that the accessibility in the forest cover becomes
almost zero.
The vertical stratification of vegetation community
consists of 5 layers or strata viz.:
(i) First or top layer or dominant layer representing the
canopy of tallest trees (30 to 60m in height),
(ii) Second layer or co- dominant layer (25m to 30m in
height),
(iii) Third layer of smaller trees (12m to 20m in height),
(vi) Fourth layer of shrubs (5m in height), and
(v) Ground layer of herbaceous plants and ferns.
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equatorial-climate/equatorial-climate-location-and-
distribution-climatology-geography/2855

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 People
•Equatorial forests are very thick and remain largely inaccessible.•They are mainly
inhabited by natives or tribals.• These include natives of the Amazon Basin, pygmies
of the Congo Basin, Jarawas of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Semangs of
Malaysia, Kubus of Sumatra and Dayaks of Borneo

Many of these tribes lead a nomadic life.•They live mainly by hunting.•They also
practise subsistence farming and shifting cultivation. In subsistence farming,farmers
cultivate just about enough to sustain themselves and their families.• In shifting
cultivation, farmers burn and clear a patch of forest land.•They cultivate the soil till
it loses its fertility.•Then they shift to another area and continue the same
practice.•These groups also carry out livestock rearing and fishing to supplement their
diet
FAUNA :Equatorial forests have an exotic wildlife
.• The Amazon rainforest is the store house of the world’smost amazing animal
species like anaconda, glassfrog, golden lion tamarin, amazon river dolphin
andiguana.

The Congo Basin and forests of Southeast Asia are known for primate species like
gorilla,chimpanzee and orangutan.• Many species of monkeys, like the howler
monkey, squirrel monkey and baboons, alsoinhabit these jungles. Birds like toucans,
macaws, humming birds and parakeets reside inthis type of vegetation.

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Climate-1
Temperate Grasslands
Biome: Location, Climate,
Temperature, Plants and
Animals
Of all the different biomes on Earth, it is the temperate
grasslands that you are most likely to encounter on a regular
basis, or might affect your life. While there are larger
biomes, such as the aquatic one, the temperate grasslands
are most closely involved with sustaining human life. By the
end of this article, you will be able to answer the following
questions.

 What are temperate grasslands?

 Where are they located?

 What type of climate do they have?

 What kinds of plant life do they support?

 What type of animal life do temperate grasslands have?

 What kind of soil and rainfall do they experience?

 What are the areas of environmental concerns for

temperate grasslands?
 What types of conservation efforts support temperate

grasslands?
Temperate grasslands are one of the most important biomes
to understand. They play an important role in our survival.
They also play an important role in helping to
manage climate change. Our relationship with them as a
species has not been defined by informed use. That isn’t a
matter of mankind not caring about nature, but it was only
within the past 30 years that we had the technology and
data to really see how species and biomes interact.

What are Temperate Grasslands?

Temperate grasslands are one of the two types of grassland
biomes. The other type is tropical grassland. While both
types share features of being bordered by a desert and a
forest, are defined by a consistent geological plane, plus
have unusually rich and deep soil, temperate and tropical
grasslands are very different.

 Temperate grasslands are located in the Northern

Hemisphere.
 They are also called prairies or steppes.

 Temperate grasslands have a distinct season pattern of

growing and dormancy.

 Temperate grasslands can have a wide range of

temperatures that occur during the year as well.

Between both types of grassland biomes they cover almost
25% of all of the Earth’s landmass. Every continent has a
grassland biome except one – Antarctica.

Location
Temperate grasslands are located above the equator on the
Northern Continents. One of the largest temperate
grasslands was the US prairie land. Of the original prairie
land in the country, only about 2% is left. This has caused
serious concern among environmentalists and spurred
renewed conservation activities.
Temperate grasslands can be large or small. As long as the
area is bordered by a desert and a forest, it can be
considered a grassland. Besides the US prairie, other famous
temperate grasslands include the Russian steppes, veldts of
Africa, the pampas of South America (mostly located in
Argentina and Uruguay), the steppes of Eurasia, the plains of
North America and the steppes that surround the Gobi
desert in Asia.

Therefore locations of temperate grasslands include:

Argentina, Uruguay – pampas

Australia – downs

Central North America – plains and prairies

Hungary – puszta

New Zealand – downs

Eurasia-Russia, Ukraine-Asia – steppes

South Africa – veldts

Climate
Temperate grasslands have a mild range of temperatures,
but they have distinct seasons. They have hot summers and
cold winters. During summers, the temperature can be well
over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The growing season covers the
traditional spring/summer months, and temperatures in this
biome vary greatly between summer and winter months.
There are some periods that are distinctly hotter during this
time, but the overall temperature is conducive to healthy
plant growth.

The fall/winter season can bring temperatures to as low as -

40 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the dormancy season, and it is
characterized by a dying out or hibernation of plants until
the weather and soil warm in the spring. It receives about 10
– 35 inches of precipitation a year in the late spring and
early summer, and much of it falls as snow in the winter.

Temperature
The temperature in temperate grasslands varies greatly
depending upon the time of the year, and temperatures vary
more from summer to winter. Seasonal temperature
variation may be slight in tropical grasslands but may vary
by as much as 40 °C (72 °F) in temperate grassland areas.

In general, summers are hot, and winters are cold and

temperate grasslands are somewhat drier and also colder
than tropical grasslands, at least for part of the year.

According to the University of California Museum of

Paleontology, the temperature in the summer can exceed
100 degrees Fahrenheit. In winter, the temperature can drop
to 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

Mean temperatures in January range from −18 °C (0 °F) in

the north to 10 °C (50 °F) in the south, with corresponding
values in July being 18 °C (64 °F) and 28 °C (82 °F). The mean
annual temperature in the most northerly areas of the North
American grassland zone is below 0 °C (32 °F).
Soil and Rainfall
It is the soil that makes the temperate grasslands such an
integral part of human society. It is unusually rich and fertile;
it is also deep. The world’s most fertile soil is found in the
eastern prairies of the US, the pampas of South America,
and the steppes of Ukraine and Russia.

The seasons deliver patterns of rainfall that never hit the

extremes of a monsoon, which could wash soil and
vegetation away. The mean annual rainfall in the North
American grassland areas is 300 to 600 millimetres. For man,
the grassland waterways and soil patterns also provided
ideal points to establish transportation hubs too.

Plants
Grasses dominate the temperate grasslands. Trees and large
shrubs are rarely found as fires, droughts and grazing by
animals prevent trees from becoming established. There is a
large variety of plants that grow on the temperate
grasslands. Plants such as:

 Low and mid-range grass types

 Small succulents and ground shrubs

 Small trees

 Grains

Most important, mankind discovered centuries ago that the

grasslands have the perfect soil for cultivating crops. This is
why many of the original settlements were located on
temperate grasslands. With the use of grasslands, civilization
was able to begin to grow because the food source for
people was stabilized. Cultures and societies began to build
themselves around the planting and harvesting seasons too.

The expanses of grass in North America and Eurasia once

sustained migrations of large vertebrates such as buffalo
(Bubalusbubalis), saiga (Saigatatarica), and Tibetan
antelopes (Pantholopshodgsoni) and kiang
(Equushemionus). At present, that occurs only in isolated
pockets, primarily in the Daurian Steppe and Tibetan
Plateau.

Each different species of grass grows best in a particular

grassland environment depending on the temperature,
rainfall, and soil conditions.

The various species of grasses include:

 Blue grama
 Galleta

 Blue-eyed grass

 Purple needlegrass

 Buffalo grass

 Ryegrass

 Foxtail

However, a few trees other than grass you can find growing
in temperate grassland biome in river valleys, and some
nonwoody plants, specifically a few hundred species of
flowers, grow among the grasses.

 Cottonwoods
 Oaks
 Cattail plants
 Cacti
 Sagebrush
 Willows
Flowers

 Asters,
 Blazing stars
 Coneflowers
 Goldenrods
 Sunflowers
 Clovers
 Psoraleas
 Wild indigos

Animals
The wide expanses and rich plant growth, plus adequate
rainfall features of the temperate grasses, make it ideal for
herd based animals, such as the following, to exist.

The large herbivores include bison, gazelles, zebras,

rhinoceroses, and wild horses.

The natural carnivores, like lions, wolves, cheetahs, leopards,

coyotes, red-tailed hawks, owls, and opossums, are also
found in temperate grasslands and prey on big and small
animals.

Omnivores such as badgers also thrive in this biome. These

kinds of animals eat rodents, snakes, frogs, insects, fruits,
and roots.

Animals like aardvarks feed exclusively on insects digging

termite mounds and ant hills with the help of their large
claws and long, sticky tongues. Whereas prairie dogs in
temperate grassland biomes commonly feed on flowers,
fruits, seeds, grasses, leave, as well as insects and eggs.
Other animals of this region include deer, prairie dogs, mice,
jackrabbits, skunks, coyotes, snakes, foxes, owls, badgers,
blackbirds, grasshoppers, meadowlarks, sparrows, quails,
and hawks.

Here is the list:

 Lions
 Wolves

 Prairie dogs

 Coyotes

 Swift foxes

 Pocket gophers

 Bison

 Gazelles

 Zebras

 Rhinoceroses

 Wild horses

 Jackrabbits

 Deer

 Mice

 Aardvarks

 Skunks

 Rodents

 Armadillos

 Badgers

Birds & Reptiles

 Blackbirds
 Grouses
 Meadowlarks
 Quails
 Sparrows
 Hawks
  Owls
 Snakes

Insects

 Grasshoppers
 Leafhoppers

 Spiders

There is a delicate balance of predator and prey on this kind

of grassland. It is most common that the prey-herbivore
types such as Bison exist in large herds. Predators, such as
wolves, operate in small packs. There is abundant ground
life here with hares and other burrowing animals heavily
represented. The avian life features flocks drawn to the
seeds of the plants and the small groups of predator birds
who hunt them as well.

Prairie animals mostly have coats that mimic surrounding

vegetation to camouflage from predators. Predators like
the snow leopards develop a creamy white coat to
camouflage and catch prey with ease.