Climograph

Climograph of Calcutta.

A climograph is a graphical representation of a location's basic climate. Climographs display data for two variables: (a) monthly average temperature and (b) monthly average precipitation. These are useful tools to quickly describe a location's climate.

Representation

Tucson, AZ
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.9     64 39     0.7     68 41     0.7     73 45     0.3     81 50     0.2     90 58     0.2     100 68     2.4     99 74     2.2     97 72     1.7     93 68     1.1     84 57     0.7     73 46     1.1     64 40 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: [1]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     22     18 4     18     20 5     18     23 7     7.6     27 10     5.1     32 14     5.1     38 20     61     37 23     56     36 22     43     34 20     28     29 14     18     23 8     28     18 4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

One form of representation uses an overlapped combination of a bar and line chart used to show the climate of a place over a 12-month period. The horizontal axis (x-axis) displays the 12 months while the vertical axis contains the precipitation scale on one side and the temperature scale on the other.

While temperature is typically visualized using a line, some climographs opt to visualize the data using a bar. This method's advantage allows the climograph to display the average range in temperature (average minimum and average maximum temperatures) rather than a simple monthly average.

Use

The patterns in a climograph describe not just a location's climate but also provide evidence for that climate's relative location. For example, a climograph with a narrow range in temperature over the year might represent a location close to the equator, or alternatively a location adjacent to a large body of water exerting a moderating effect on the temperature range. Meanwhile, a wide range in annual temperature might suggest the opposite. We could also derive information about a site's ecological conditions through a climograph. For example, if precipitation is consistently low year-round, we might suggest the location reflects a desert; if there is a noticeable seasonal pattern to the precipitation, we might suggest the location experiences a monsoon season. When combining the temperature and precipitation patterns together, we have even better clues as to the local conditions. Despite this, it is important to note that a number of local factors contribute to the patterns observed in a particular place; therefore, a climograph is not a foolproof tool that captures all the geographic variation that might exist.

External links

• "How to make a Climograph" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24.
• https://climatecharts.net/ - Webapplication for generating climographs for places worldwide dynamically.